Former SFA Dean of Fine Arts, Bill Parsons, 81, passed away Thursday, April 12, 2012, in Nacogdoches.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sue Grimes Parsons; daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and Arnold Gilbert; son and daughter-in law, John and Tana Parsons; grandchildren, Ryan Paul Gilbert, Stephanie Rose Gilbert, Bailey Anne Parsons, and John Henry “Hank” Parsons; and many other cousins, nieces and nephews.
An Arkansas native, Bill grew up in Memphis, TN, where he lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track at Humes High School. Bill received his BA degree from Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, and his MA and PhD in Theatre Arts and Speech Communication from LSU. He served as a Speech, Theatre and Communications Professor for over 40 years in higher education, including 20 years as an academic dean, the last six of which were as Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University. After retiring from the Dean’s office, he served as Pastor of Fairview United Methodist Church for eight years and as Associate Pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Nacogdoches for five years.
Bill had an extensive career as an actor and director before becoming an academic dean. He created the original role of Job in The Book of Job, and performed the title role with the Everyman Players at the Brussels Worlds Fair in 1958. His voluminous lifetime performance history included roles such as Macbeth in Macbeth, Brutus in Julius Ceasar, and most recently Noah in Noah at the Lamplight Theatre in Nacogdoches.
In recent years, Bill had been actively working as a leader, sponsor, mentor and servant within the East Texas Emmaus community, a Christian outreach organization about which he was extremely passionate. He leaves behind an immense legacy of cultural, academic and Christian spiritual leadership. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Visitation will be from 5 until 7 p.m. Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15, 2012, at First United Methodist Church in Nacogdoches. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Park in Nacogdoches.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, by calling (800) 873-6983 or by emailing donors@stjude.org.
Online memories and condolences may be offered at www.casonmonk-metcalf.com.
Services are under the direction of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, located at 5400 North Street in Nacogdoches.
