Neva Parrish

A Memorial Service for Neva Cheatham Parrish, 94, of Cookeville, will be held Sunday, May 25th at 4 p.m. at Cookeville First United Methodist Church. Dr. Martin Thielen will officiate. Mrs. Parrish's family will receive friends Sunday at the church from 2 p.m. until time for the service. She died Thursday evening, May 22, 2014, at Cookeville Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Parrish was born March 2, 1920 in Tampa FL to the late Walter Guy and Mabel Gibson Cheatham. A graduate of Isaac Litton High School in Nashville, she was employed at Cain-Sloan Department store where she met her future husband, John C. Parrish. Their marriage lasted 70 years until his death on April 1, 2010. After establishing a family, Mrs. Parrish returned to school and completed her undergraduate, Masters, and ED.S degrees at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. She was a teacher in the Metropolitan Nashville School System and spent several years at Hermitage Elementary School. While living in Nashville, she and her late husband were members of Andrew Price Methodist Church in Donelson. Upon retirement, they moved to Cookeville in 1988 and became members of Cookeville First United Methodist Church, where Neva was an active member of the choir for 26 years. She was an avid reader, recipe collector, and made wonderful scrapbooks for her family. She was a member of Retired Teachers Association and the Cumberland Art Society. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her sisters, Wanda Dell and Juanita Jackson; a half-brother Ted Cheatham and half-sister Melody Paris. Mrs. Parrish is survived by two sons, Dorman C. Parrish of Charlottesville, VA and John M. (Pam) Parrish of Cookeville; grandchildren, Alison (Marvin) Griffin of Atlanta, Brandon Parrish of Cookeville and Jonathan Parrish of Denver; great grandchildren, Benjamin and William Griffin; half-brothers and sister, Rodney Cheatham of Hopkinsville, KY, Guylen Cheatham of Webster, FL, and Glenda Moore of Valmco, FL; and by several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cookeville First United Methodist Church 165, E Broad Street, Cookeville TN, 38501 or to a charity of your choice.