Rev. Robert E. Parrott

Bob was born Oct 13, 1930 in Montrose, Louisiana but lived most of his childhood in Natchitoches. He graduated high school at age 16 and went Northwestern State majoring in Latin and English. He received his MDiv from Perkins School of Theology. He was ordained an elder in the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church at age 22. His first appointments were as the Director of the Wesley Foundation at Southwestern Louisiana and LSU Baton Rouge. While at Southwestern, he was at the forefront of the civil rights movement on campus and, under his direction, the Wesley Foundation was the first to desegregate in the south.

He studied at both Union Theological Seminary and Vanderbilt Divinity School and served a few churches in the Tennessee conference before moving to Holston Conference and taking a position as Director of the UTK Wesley Foundation in Knoxville in 1964. While serving there for the next 29 years, he worked on creating a diverse and inclusive community of Christians on campus that focused on giving students a church home on campus where they can learn how to live out their faith, learn to serve their community, and help those students who God was calling to ministry.

He met the love of his life, Donna Jean Stagner, onboard the Queen Mary on a trip to Europe and would marry her 12 months later. The two shared a love of learning and travel, taking many trips together throughout their 64 years of marriage. He and Donna continued their love of travel and cruising into their retirement years and their love story was part of a documentary about the Queen Mary.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Donna Parrott; his parents, Dr. James Crittington Parrott and Bessie Smith Parrott; his brother James Parrott and his wife Delores Parrott.

Survived by daughter, Dr. Leslie (Daisy) Parrott; son, Robert Crittington “Crit” (Rev. Stephanie) Parrott; and grandchildren: Ashley (Dennis) Vann, Kristin (John Ecklund) Parrott, Alex (Katie) Parrott, and Ben Parrott.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, April 18, at 10:30 am at the mausoleum chapel inside Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery. Service to follow at 11 am – Rev Stephanie Parrott officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the UTK Wesley Foundation, 1718 Melrose Place, Knoxville TN 37916.

Family and friends may share online condolences at www.berryhighlandmemorial.com.