Mrs. Gladys R. Parvin

Gladys Rebecca Parvin was born on July 24, 1923 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania to George Franklin Fogelman and Ruth Amelia Fogelman (Swartley). She passed away on November 5, 2015 at John Knox Village. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 15 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm at Truman Medical Center (Lakewood), 7900 Lee’s Summit Road, Kansas City, MO 64139 in Truman Rooms 1 and 2. Details are noted below.

She loved life, hard work and the joy of learning. As a child she enjoyed working on her family farm. She often stayed after school to play baseball, basketball and run track. She had a hunger to learn the truth from the Bible. At age 16 she was introduced to Jehovah’s Witnesses by a neighbor who answered her Bible questions. In 1943, at 20 years of age, she was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She began serving as a full-time evangelizer in her early 20s and remained active throughout the rest of her life. To support her ministry she worked initially as a professional picture framer and later as a household domestic.

On November 29, 1947 she married Albert Joseph Parvin and together they continued full-time evangelizing work. Their first assignment was an isolated area in Maryland. Subsequently they attended the 20th class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead and graduated on February 8, 1953. They were sent as missionaries to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), Africa. They arrived by cargo ship in Durban, South Africa on December, 1953 and proceeded by train to their assignment. Four years later they stepped aside as missionaries and welcomed their first-born daughter Glenda. Albert supported their family as a boilermaker working in copper mines and steel mills. However, the evangelizing work remained the focus of their lives. In 1968, after 14 years in Zambia they were deported for their political neutrality. They lived for 11 years in Zimbabwe (previously Rhodesia) during the peak of civil war. After 25 years in Africa they returned to the United States.

During her lifetime she assisted countless individuals to appreciate the wonderful promises found in God’s Word, often riding her bicycle miles to reach a person of interest. For example, in Rhodesia she taught herself Portuguese so that she could provide comfort and encouragement to refugees who fled from Angola. Another example is when she taught several illiterate individuals how to read so that they could read and understand the Bible truths. She had absolute confidence in the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer; that God’s Kingdom by Christ Jesus was the only solution to mankind’s problems. She believed that Christ as king will soon rid the earth of sickness, death, division, and unite mankind as was God’s original purpose. She felt that everyone, regardless of education or social standing, deserved the opportunity to learn precious Bible truth. She will be fondly remembered for her Christian zeal, sense of humor, adventurous spirit and countless expressions of unselfish interest in others.

As a homemaker and housewife she enjoyed baking, cooking, gardening, sewing, winemaking, opera singing, and playing the piano. No challenge was too big to tackle. She didn’t hesitate to kill a poisonous boomslang snake hovering in her fruit trees, kill a chicken, or catch fish for her and Albert’s dinner.

She leaves behind a daughter, Sharon Gale Newman (Parvin), and four grandchildren and their families, Mirvin Lottering, Vera-Lyn Sisk both of Belton, MO, Ruth Gladys Alice Durban of Friscro, TX, Kerrie-Anne O'Connor of Urbana, MO, five great-grandchildren, sister Anna Florence Fogelman of Friendswood, TX, sister-in-law Dorothy Fogelman of Newark, NJ, and many loved nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Albert Joseph Parvin and daughter Glenda Esther O’Connor; and brothers Richard (Dick) Swartley Fogelman, Harold Leroy Fogelman, and George Franklin Fogelman, Jr.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 15 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm at Truman Medical Center (Lakewood), 7900 Lee’s Summit Road, Kansas City, MO 64139 in Truman Rooms 1 and 2 (off of Woods Chapel Road). Take H291 to Woods Chapel Road (turns into Gregory Blvd) for two miles. Turn left on Lee’s Summit Road into Truman Medical Center. Park in Lot J. Enter the “Lakewood Care Center” and proceed to the elevator. Take the elevator to the first floor and the Truman Rooms 1 and 2 are on the right. The service will include an encouraging talk and picture presentation of her lifetime memories along with a meal. Flowers can be sent to 506 SE Lee Haven Drive, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to jw.org.