Joseph E Parris

View Funeral WebcastJoseph E. Parris, 89, retired owner of Columbia Wilbert Vault Company and long-time resident of Iris Circle, died Monday, February 16, 2009 at NHC Place at Cool Springs. Funeral services will be conducted Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church with Rev. Jeff Jacob officiating. Additional services will be conducted Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Speck Funeral Home in Livingston. Burial will be in Overton County Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by the U. S. Air Force. The family will visit with friends Wednesday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols and from 9:00 a.m. to service time Thursday in the church Atrium. Memorials may be made to Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250, Dallas, Texas 75244. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. Born in Byrdstown, Tennessee, he was the son of the late Cosby L. Parris and Susie Cope Parris. He was a graduate of Livingston Academy and attended the University of Tennessee. During World War II, he was a pilot in the U. S. Army Air Corps, a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and taken as a Japanese Prisoner of War in Rangoon (Burma). He later served in the U. S. Air Force during the Korean War. After serving in the military for 23 years, Mr. Parris and his family moved to Columbia in 1965 where he established and operated the Wilbert Burial Vault Company for a number of years. Active in civic and community affairs, he was a member and past president of the Mt. Pleasant Rotary Club, served as Chairman of Meals on Wheels, and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He also was a member of the Columbia Kiwanis Club. Mr. Parris was a member of First United Methodist Church. His wife, Pauline Speck "Polly" Parris, died in July 2005. Survivors include sons, Mike (Donna) Parris of Columbia and Steve (Kerrin) Parris of Hurst, Texas; grandchildren, Joe Parris and Katie Parris of Hurst, Texas; several sisters and brothers; nieces and nephews. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers.