John Eldridge Parham, age 85, of Raleigh passed away Wednesday morning in his home at Cypress Community. Visitation will be at 10am followed by a service at 11am at Trinity Baptist Church, 4815 Six Forks Road on Saturday November 10th.
Jack was born June 25, 1933 in Griffin, Georgia to Clyde and Kenan White. Jack graduated from Chattanooga City High School and attended Tennessee Technical University in Cookeville, TN. With a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, he began his career in sales with Swift and Co. in Chattanooga, TN. Jack was hired by Chattem, Inc. and had a fulfilling career as a leading sales manager for over 30 years. He loved the people of Chattem and realized that relationships triumphed over product and price.
Jack met his wife of 57 years, Margaret Ann Williams, in Nashville, TN where she was school teacher. They were married September 24, 1961 in Bells, Tennessee. They spent nine months in New Jersey before Jack’s career brought them to Raleigh, NC. It was in Raleigh where they made wonderful friends, attended Forest Hills Baptist, Bayleaf Baptist, and Trinity Baptist Church.
After Jack’s medical retirement in 1988, he spent over 25 years volunteering at the former Raleigh Community Hospital (Duke Raleigh). He worked in various departments before landing in oncology where he talked, joked, and brought joy to patients receiving chemotherapy. In 2003, Jack was honored with the Volunteer of the Year award presented by The Exchange Club of North Raleigh.
Jack is survived by his wife Margaret, son John E. Parham, Jr. and wife Shannon of Raleigh, granddaughter Jordan Caroline Parham, and grandson John (Rhett) Eldridge Parham, III.
The family is blessed to have the love and support of Cypress Community and we will all miss Jack’s wit, humor and entertainment. We will all miss the “unofficial mayor” of Cypress.
