Mr. Ben Hill Parham Sr.

His funeral will be held at 2 PM Tuesday, October 19, 2010, at Trinity United Methodist Church (25 Palm Lane, Warm Springs, Georgia 31830) where he attended services in his youth. The service to celebrate his life will be conducted by Reverend Louise Elmore.

Ben Hill Parham, the youngest child of Ben Hill Parham and Willie Mae Bowden Parham, was born on July 16, 1914, in Warm Springs, Georgia, where his father farmed and raised cattle. When he was three years old, his father died of fever while on a cattle-buying trip to south Georgia. Mrs. Parham and her three children left the farm and moved to Columbus, Georgia. While he loved Columbus, Ben Parham retained a passion for country life on a middle Georgia farm. Growing up, he spent summers with his uncle, Nicholas Ware Parham, of Durand, Georgia, where Ben and his cousin Walton hunted, fished, eluded a vicious dairy bull on the farm, and played pranks during camp meetings hosted by Trinity United Methodist Church.

A graduate of Columbus High School, Ben Parham attended the University of Georgia where he earned a B.S. in agriculture in 1937. He was a talented golfer at the University of Georgia, and he continued to play and place in tournaments at Columbus Country Club and East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Called to military service in 1942, Ben Parham married Dorothy Anne Braswell of Tifton, Georgia, and completed Officer Candidate School at Camp Lee in Petersburg, Virginia.

Attaining the rank of second lieutenant in the Quarter Master Corp, Ben Parham supervised soldiers caring for mules and horses needed for the war effort in Italy. He served in both Burma and India. In 1947, he realized his dream, establishing Redland Farm, in Talbot County, Georgia. Here he maintained pecan orchards and raised cattle, hay, and chickens. An avid quail hunter, he kept pointers and English setters and knew the likely spots on his farm to “find a covey.” Ben Parham also worked as an agent and supervisor for the Georgia Department of Agriculture for thirty-four years and served as Talbot County Superintendent of Schools in the early 1960’s.

Ben Parham was predeceased by his mother, Willie Parham Jackson, his sisters, Carolyn Jarrell and Dorothy Roberts, and his wife, Dorothy Anne Parham.

He is survived by his sons, Ben Hill Parham of LaGrange and Courtenay Ware Parham of Morrow, and his daughters, Rebecca Parham Kiefer of Richmond, Virginia, and Leslie Parham of Atlanta, in addition to grandchildren and great grandchildren. A private interment at Union Cemetery in Durand, Georgia, will take place after the service.

Memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, 25 Palm Lane, Warm Springs, Georgia 31830; Talbotton United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 513, Talbotton, Georgia 31827; and United Services Organization (USO), P.O. Box 96322, Washington, D.C.

Arrangements are by Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, 1010 Mooty Bridge Road, LaGrange, GA 30240 (706) 884-8636 www.shlagrange.com