Obituary for Lovell Minor Parsons, III

Lovell Minor Parsons III, age 96 passed away peacefully on Friday December 8, 2023 in Northwest Ohio. He was born on October 29, 1927 on his family’s pioneer farm in the Parchment Valley, Jackson County, West Virginia to the late Lovell Minor Jr. and Nellie Lee (Board) Parsons. He married Yvonne Marie (Cook)r. Parsons on November 23, 1951, and she preceded him in death on September 24, 2007.

Lovell was named for the soldier who fought under conscription in the Union Army for his Great grandfather Alexis Fink Parsons in the Civil War. He attended a one room schoolhouse through the eighth grade and then graduated from Ripley High School in 1945 at the age of seventeen. He attended the West Virginia institute of Technology and then enlisted in the U.S. Army. A WW II veteran, he served at Fort Knox at the end of the war. After his service to his country, he attended Ohio University where he earned his degree in Civil Engineering. His career as a Civil Engineer spanned over sixty years, with his specialty being in the design and building of water and sewer treatment plants in several states.

He owned Basic Design Associates in Westerville, Ohio. Most of his adult life was spent in Westerville where he invested his free time in community service. He was a charter member of the JCC and Kiwanis chapter. He was a Royal Arch Mason and member of Blendon Lodge 339. He was an over fifty-year member of Church of the Messiah United Methodist and lifetime member of both the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Lovell enjoyed American history and spent many hours of his retirement researching his seventeenth century family history in the pre-revolutionary war era of the United States.

His last years were spent near his children, first in Bowling Green, KY for seven years and in Northwest Ohio for the last six years. Being an avid reader, becoming blind in his last two years of life was difficult, yet he never lost his love of life, family and his great sense of humor.

 Lovell is survived by his son Charles Lovell (Sara) Parsons of Whitehouse, Ohio, Daughters Susan Parsons (Shakil Khan, MD) Stoner of Holland, Ohio and Karen Parsons (Marshall) Scott of Bowling Green, KY, Brothers Charles Franklin (Christine) Parsons of Little Hocking, Ohio, Roger Lee (Patricia) Parsons of Washington Court House, Ohio and Ronald Gene Parsons of Fort Wright, KY, sister-in-law Hilda T. Parsons of Williamsburg, Virginia, seven grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, loving wife Yvonne, two infant granddaughters, brother William Keith Parsons, brother-in-law Willam Whitmore and sister-in-law Betty Whitmore.

Private family services will be held at Hill Funeral Home 220 South State Street Westerville, Ohio 43081 on December 28, 2023, at 11:00 AM. Interment will follow at Blendon Central Cemetery where military honors will be rendered. Those wishing to make an expression of sympathy are asked to consider a donation in his memory to your local food bank.