John Hall Parsons III

John “Jack” Hall Parsons III, known to most as Jack, to his fellow Marines in Vietnam as Jake, and in later years to many simply as "the Gunny,” passed away on May 5, 2026, at the VA Hospital in Miami, Florida. He was born on October 6, 1947, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Hall Parsons Jr. and Adele Ryan Parsons. The second oldest of nine children, Jack spent his early childhood in Philadelphia before his family settled in Moorestown, New Jersey, where he and his siblings grew up.

Jack was a proud United States Marine, a Vietnam veteran, a Force Recon Marine, a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend. He was a man of loyalty, toughness, faith, sacrifice, humor, memory, and fierce love for the people he called his own.

To some, he was Jack. To the Marines who knew him in Vietnam, he was Jake. To many in his later life, he was the Gunny. But to his sons, he was Dad — complicated, stubborn, funny, intense, loyal, sometimes impossible, and deeply loved.

The Marine Corps was never simply something Jack had done. It was part of who he was. As a Force Recon Marine and Vietnam veteran, he was intensely proud of his service with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. He carried the memory of that unit, and especially the Marines who did not come home, for the rest of his life. In later years, he helped ensure that the service and sacrifice of those Marines would be remembered, including through support for a memorial connected to his Vietnam unit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Jack also found brotherhood on the road. A lifelong motorcycle rider, he loved the freedom, sound, and fellowship that came with riding. In Miami, he was a proud member of the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club International, a motorcycle club rooted in Marine Corps service, camaraderie, and loyalty. For Jack, riding was not just transportation. It was identity, freedom, and another expression of the Marine brotherhood he carried for the rest of his life.

Jack meant a great deal to many people, especially those who knew him through Vietnam, the Marine Corps, the motorcycle community, and the brotherhoods that followed him throughout his days. He is deeply missed by those who served with him, rode with him, loved him, and understood the weight he carried.

Jack’s family was larger than bloodlines alone. He loved and claimed the people brought into his life, and he counted them as his own. He was the proud father of seven sons: Todd Hall Parsons, Ryan Michael Parsons, Marc Anthony Alphonse, Allen Brook Parsons, John “Jake” Hall Parsons IV, Collin Patrick Parsons, and Michael Joseph Parsons.

He is also survived by his grandchildren, Rabeccah Scott, Zachary Bayfield, Cheyenne Parsons, Liam Bayfield, Gavin Bayfield, Seda Erol, Neda Erol, John “Cannon” Scheer, Charlee Parsons, Liam DeSalle, Adelane Parsons, Amethyst Parsons, Cullen Parsons, Llewellyn Parsons, Nebula Parsons, and Poseidon Parsons; and by his great-grandchildren, Jade Scott and Ethan Scott.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John Hall Parsons Jr. and Adele Ryan Parsons, and by his brother, Edmund Parsons, who passed away in 2019. He is survived by his siblings Catherine Edwards, Joseph “JP” Parsons, Caroline Kane, Timothy Parsons, Patricia Kinneer, Bernadette Poorman, and Ann Marie “Amy” Brown.

In his final year, Jack returned to the Catholic Church and found comfort in conversations about forgiveness, grace, judgment, and peace. He believed that a man who had seen and endured the demands of war could still find grace.

Jack’s life was not small, quiet, or easy. He loved hard. He fought hard. He remembered everything. He carried more than most men could survive, and still he kept going. He could be fierce, funny, difficult, generous, profane, tender, and unforgettable — sometimes all in the same conversation.

To his oldest son, Todd, he was more than a father. He was his best friend. Their bond was deep, complicated, loyal, and lasting.

Men like Jack do not simply disappear. They leave marks — in their families, in their brothers-in-arms, in their children, grandchildren, friends, stories, and in the lives of those who still hear their voice long after they are gone.

After more than sixty years of carrying the war, Jack now rests. His last watch has ended, and those who loved him now carry him forward.

Semper Fidelis.

We will remember.

Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery

Date: TBD