Ralph Albert Parman

Ralph A. Parman, 98, went to be with the LORD on Friday, September 15 with loving family by his side. Ralph Albert Parman was born November 25, 1924 in Laurel County, Kentucky to George Preston Parman and Carrie (Brock) Parman. Ralph’s education began at the Union one-room schoolhouse, southeast of London, Kentucky and he was the first in his family (of thirteen children) to complete high school at Bush. It was there that he met the love of his life, Pearle Chadwell, whom he married on September 25, 1946 after he finished serving in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II. They moved up to Brownstown, Indiana and began raising their family while Ralph started his career as a machinist and line foreman with the Cummins Engine Company at Columbus. He never knew a stranger and always enjoyed having conversation, putting others at ease with his pleasant, personable manner. He taught Sunday School at the Brownstown Baptist Church on Spring Street, and related to family and friends how he became saved physically and Spiritually after his B-25 bomber nearly crash landed from running out of fuel near Midway Island. He always loved squirrel hunting as an adolescent, and earned the qualification of expert on the rifle range during basic training, taking on the duty of a tail-gunner in his squadron. Deer hunting and pheasant hunting with family were also favorite pastimes of his. Ralph became a New York Yankees fan, listening to the radio broadcasts as a teenager with his mother, Carrie, at their home near Brock Bottom. He enjoyed hunting, talking with others and spending time with family. And, he remained a devout UK basketball fan despite living 56 of his years as a Hoosier. And, he enjoyed decades of worship with family and friends at the Brownstown Baptist Church and Lick Fork Missionary Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Pearle, (in 1998), son Dick (in 2022), his parents, three brothers and eight sisters. Surviving are his sons; Dave (and Vicki) Parman, Greg (and Ann) Parman, widowed daughter-in-law Jane Parman: five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. The funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at House-Rawlings Funeral Home in London, Kentucky with interment to follow at the Laurel River Cemetery. The family will receive friends beginning at 10:00 a.m. until the funeral hour, also at the funeral home. Online memories may be shared at www.houserawlings.com. The family has requested that the funeral service be Livestreamed. Click here to view Livestream of Funeral Service