Hortense Parrish

Hortense Cate Parrish, a life-long educator, an honored retiree of the University of Tennessee system and a devoted member of First United Methodist Church of Martin left this life on May 27, 2019.

Born in a West Tennessee snow storm on the night of January 30, 1917, to Carrie Sullivan Cate and Fletcher Calvin Cate, she grew up 2 miles south of Martin, attended UTMB, transferred to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and completed her bachelor’s degree in education with concentrations in the humanities.

Upon graduation she embarked upon a life-long commitment to education that focused on the betterment of what she saw as the collective progress of all peoples from all backgrounds. Countless were the times that she encouraged people to work through their self doubts and to attain their goals, especially those that seemed out of reach. If Oklahoma son Will Rogers never met a “man he didn’t like”, then she never met a person she couldn’t teach.

Her first teaching experience was in Rector, AR, where she met and married John. D. Parrish. His U. S. Navy career moved them to California, Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. While seeing the country courtesy of the Navy, she taught humanities in numerous school districts but returned to Martin in 1955 after John D’s retirement.

Once back in Martin she taught freshman English at UTM until her retirement in 1980. Always concerned about assisting incoming freshmen, she concentrated her efforts on writing skills that were later incorporated into the Hortense Parrish Writing lab.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, John D. Parrish. She is survived by grandson Morgan Beatty and spouse Rachel Sherman of Brooklyn, New York; by granddaughter Margot Hamby and spouse Alan Hamby of Tulsa, OK; and by son Walter Parrish and spouse Judy Colonnese of Oklahoma City.

Funeral service will be Saturday, June 1, 2019, 12:00 Noon at Murphy Funeral Home with Rev. Larry Kendrick officiating.  Burial will follow in East Side Cemetery.  Visitation will be Saturday from 10:00 A.M. until funeral time at 12:00 Noon.

The family requests that memorials be directed to the Hortense Parrish Writing Lab at the University of Tennessee at Martin or to any worthwhile scholarship fund.