Benny Carl Parsons

      Benny Carl Parsons was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

      Benny was born on Thursday, September 22, 1949 a at Valdese General Hospital in Valdese, NC. His parents were Carl Washington Parsons and Merit Inez Huffman. Benny was raised in Hickory, NC near Cooksville & the Vale area. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

      Growing up in the Parsons household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Benny was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Benny was raised with 8. Gladys, Foard, Lois, Jerline, Joyce, Mary, Barry and Gary. Benny was constantly involved in activities with his brothers and sisters. Benny and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Benny was always consistently loyal to his family.

      As a young child, Benny was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Benny developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. Benny took part in softball at home with the family, horseshoes, a little golf. He was a part of a large family who played and worked hard. In his spare time he liked play softball, ride his bicycle, and play rook and checkers. Benny's memorable achievements included working in the tobacco field, going with his Grandpa Huffman to sell watermelons and other produce. However, what Benny enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

      While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Benny as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Fred T. Foard High School. In He earned his GED when he was in the Air Force in England at Upper Heyford Air Force Base. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was FHA. The teacher he enjoyed learning from the most was Mrs. Brittain. He loved FHA and the trips they would take in the summer to White Lake. Benny was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Benny always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

      College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Benny handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Benny was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. Benny was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed his fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Benny well during his college experience. He earned his Welding certificate from CVCC and took other courses in construction there.

      Always considered to be a solid friend, Benny was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Benny was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Benny to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Jerry Whisnant, Donny Lynn, Gabby Whisnant, Coke Brittain, Rick Willis, and Pete Willis. Later in life, he became friends with Jerry (Pete) Brittain, Danny Clark, George Ross, Ken Alderman, Wes Kelly, Ronnie Sain, Gene Sain,.

      On June 6, 1969 Benny exchanged wedding vows with Ellen Marie Carswell. At the at the Clerk of Court's office of Gaffney, South Carolina. Compassionate and devoted to Ellen, Benny held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Ellen and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

      Benny brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Benny was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Benny was blessed with two children, Barbara and Raye Lynn. They were also blessed with three grandchildren, Thomas, Amanda, and Maggie.

      Benny greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Benny enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Benny was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was truck driver for MDI. He was employed for about 2 years at Stewart Construction Company where he drove a dump truck, for about 10 years at Abernathy Welding Company and 26 years with Merchants Distributing Company driving a truck. Benny worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

      Benny was an Air Force veteran. He was in the Motor Pool at Bolling AFB in Washington, DC where he had the opportunity to drive for the Secretary of Defense, Dr. Seaman and then two years at Upper Heyford Air Force Base in England, where he worked on the Flight line and then 1 year in Goldsboro, NC. Where he worked in the motor pool. Through his hard work and dedication, he achieved the rank of Buck Sergeant. He received praise for his valor, including being awarded He earned many safety awards and received a letter of recommendation from Dr. Seaman. A literal thinker who possessed a calm exterior, Benny seemed to enjoy the routines set forth by the military. His results-oriented approach to things made him committed to the job, and he understood well his role in serving his country.

      Benny liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Benny always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were projecting with welding projects, gardening, and making wine. Benny played around with his banjo. He wanted to learn to play very badly. Benny was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

      Benny found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were football and car racing.

      Many organizations were grateful to have Benny as a member, since he always brought with him a “stick to it” attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, Benny was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that he was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. He always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. In high school, Benny was a member of the FHA and 4H. Throughout his later years, Benny was an active member of the Cookville Masonic Lodge, The Scottish Rites for a while, the Lincoln County Shrine Club , Providence Baptist Church, and the American Legion in Hickory, NC.

      As a man who always showed great commitment to the things he believed in, it’s little wonder that Benny was so active in his community. Being practical and mentally disciplined, Benny preferred to base his decisions on first-hand experiences. Benny was never afraid to roll up his sleeves and dig right in. Benny was a member of several community groups, including serving on committees for the Lincoln County Shrine Club. Politically, Benny was a supporter of the Republican Party.

      Benny was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He was a member of Providence Baptist Church during his early years and later in life started attending again. Benny loved to watch Charles Stanley on TV. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

      Benny enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Benny appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, Benny always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included trips to the beach in particular Ocean Lakes Campgrounds. He also enjoyed a trip to see the Kentucky Derby with one of his Air Force buddies, Richard and Anjie Martin. He also enjoyed the year that Roger and Maxine Colemam came to visit us from England. We took them to the beach and to Pigeion Forge.

      Benny was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of Benny’s favorites was Harry, a benji dog. They were best friends for 12 years.

      When Benny’s retirement finally arrived in Benny was getting ready to retire when he became ill with pancreatic cancer., he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. Even in retirement, Benny continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He was active in his new community and felt fulfilled.

      Benny Carl Parsons passed away on Sunday, September 8, 2013 at 6 at at home in Hickory, NC. Benny discovered that he had pancreatic cancer in May and on September 8, we lost him. He is survived by his wife Ellen, and his daughers Barbara and Raye Lynn, his grandchildren, Thomas, Amanda, and Maggie, his sisters Gladys and Joyce and borthers Foard and Barry. Services were held at Providence Baptist Church. Benny was laid to rest in Providence Baptist Church.

      Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Benny Carl Parsons. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.

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Benny Carl Parsons, 63, passed away September 8, 2013 at his residence. Benny was born September 22, 1949 in Burke Co. to the late Carl Washington and Merit Huffman Parsons. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by 3 sisters, Mary Chaney, Lois Wilson and Jerline Crouch and a brother, Gary Parsons. He worshipped at Providence Baptist Church. He was an active member of Cookville Lodge #502, Charlotte Scottish Rite, Oasis Shrine, and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Lincolnton Chapter 114. He was also a member of the American Legion Post #48. He worked as a truck driver for MDI for 26 years. He served 6 years in the United States Air Force. Surviving are his wife, Ellen Carswell Parsons of the home; daughters, Barbara P. Yancey and husband, Larry, of Vale and Raye Lynn P. Weaver and husband, Dale, of Hickory; granddaughters, Amanda Yancey of Vale and Maggie Weaver of Hickory; grandson, Thomas Yancey of Vale; sisters, Gladys Harmon of Summerville, S. C. and Joyce Brannock of Hickory; brothers, Foard Parsons of Catawba and Barry Parsons of Vale. The family will be at his residence. Services will be Saturday at 11:00 am at Providence Baptist Church with Rev. Marion Powell and Rev. Ernest Richards officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with Military Honors conducted by American Legion Post #48 and Masonic Rites by Cookville Lodge # 502. The family will receive friends Friday, September 13, 2013 at 5:00 pm until the last person is visited at Providence Baptist Church.Memorials may be made to Shriners Children Hospital, 604 Doug Mayes Place, Charlotte, NC 28262, or Catawba Regional Hospice 3975 Robinson Road, Newton, NC 28658; or Cancer Treatment Center of America; made out to Assistants to Healthcare Donations 1331 East Wyoming Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124. Condolences may be made online at www.hickoryfh.com. Hickory Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.