James Willard Parham

Jim came from a family of entrepreneurs and pioneers. The Moffats and Brossiers, his maternal relatives, were some of the first families to settle the Lemon City community on Biscayne Bay and develop the Miami area. Duncan Moffat, Jim’s great-great-great grandfather, a candy manufacturer from Scotland, patented a device for extracting juice from cane and a process for crystalizing fruit. Duncan’s son George invented a type of kerosine lamp with a large round wick, which he sold for years in London and displayed in the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Other relatives formed Orlando’s Southern Ballet Theater and owned the Orlando Reporter Star, forerunners to the Orlando Ballet and Orlando Sentinel.

A proud Fighting Eagle and 1958 graduate of Edgewater High School in College Park, Florida, Jim started his own journey as a businessman and entrepreneur at Acme Cleaners in College Park, owned and operated by his uncle Earnest Parham since 1928. After working there for 10 years and learning everything he could about the business, he bought the cleaners in 1972, managing and expanding operations with his wife, Sarah, for nearly 40 years.

During his career, he helped develop a new drying cleaning system, worked in China as a consultant on the establishment of a dry cleaners there, and was an active member and leader in the South Eastern Fabricare Association and Rotary Orlando. Upon his retirement from the day-to-day operations of Acme Cleaners in 2011, his grandson, Randy Parham, took the helm of the family business.

Jim had many loves — fishing off Florida’s Gulf Coast and in the Everglades, hiking the mountains of North Carolina, cheering on and supporting the University of Florida Gators, his all-time favorite college football team. He was also generous to his church and many charities, including those working for the preservation and conservation of Florida’s coastline and Everglades.

Most of all, he loved his family and friends. He is predeceased by his older son, Walter, and survived by his wife of 60 years, Sarah; younger son, Tom (his wife, Elizabeth “Tita”); two grandsons, Randy (his wife, Jodi) and James (his wife, Shannon); his granddaughter, Candi Gomez; and six great-grandchildren, Mario Guion, James Parham Jr. and Christian, Rylan, Reagan and Callen Parham.

A private celebration of life for family and friends will take place March 19.

Condolences may be offered in the online guest book below.