Frederick "Fred" Parrish

Frederick (“Fred”) Parrish, 85, died peacefully at home on November 2, 2026, surrounded by his family, following a long period of declining health. Born in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 23, 1941, he was the son of the late Marian Wrigley Parrish Dashiell of Greenville and the late John Dillwyn Parrish of Cornish, New Hampshire. He was the grandson of Marian Chambers Wrigley and George Wrigley of Greenville, Lydia Austin Parrish of St. Simons Island, Georgia, and the celebrated American illustrator Frederick Maxfield Parrish of Cornish.

Fred spent his earliest years in Greenville, so often in the company of his Wrigley grandparents that those first memories of their love sustained him for the rest of his life, especially in times of sadness. His grandfather and household workmen Jay and Oscar often took him up to the family farm at Cedar Mountain, North Carolina, where his deep love of the natural world was first kindled. At his grandfather’s knee he soaked up the names and characteristics of the trees, rocks, plants, fossils and wild animals of the South Carolina Piedmont and the mountains of western North Carolina. His grandfather also taught him about farm machinery and tools, and how to fix and repair just about anything.

Following his parents’ divorce and his mother’s marriage to the late Thomas Irwin Dashiell of Spartanburg, South Carolina, the family moved to that city, where Fred attended Pine Street Elementary and, in the second grade, met Larry Mahaffey, who would remain his best friend for the rest of his life. He later attended Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, and Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill. He graduated from Wofford College in Spartanburg in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He went on to study architecture at Clemson University but left before receiving a degree, later quipping, “The math and my speech did me in.”

Math may not have been his strong suit, but nearly everything else was. Natural history remained his greatest love and abiding passion across the long arc of his life. He could identify on sight any tree, plant, insect, animal or rock you might throw his way, with an easy precision he wore as lightly as his palm leaf Stetson. That love of the natural world found its way into his art. From a very young age he delighted in painting and often exhibited his work in art shows. He sculpted magnificent bowls from soapstone and could tell you off the top of his head the location of every soapstone outcropping in the tristate area. He was also a welder.

He was an avid reader and, even after his sight was gone, listened to hundreds of books on Audible. A richly gifted writer of essays, poetry, personal letters and songs, he was forever encouraged to write professionally. He sang, played the banjo and loved to sit out on the front step of a late afternoon, playing bluegrass on his Martin guitar. And he loved all music, from pre-Civil War spirituals and blues to the folk and rock of the 1950s and ‘60s to the bluegrass of Norman Blake and Tony Rice. He sang to himself in his crib as a toddler and again in his bed during his long decline.

From the age of four, Fred suffered from a stutter severe enough to make communication extremely difficult. His parents pursued every avenue available at the time, including traditional speech therapy, acupuncture, crawling therapy and psychiatric treatment. Though saddled with this disability, Fred was a people person and the most extroverted stutterer many had ever met. He truly never met a stranger. Even so, he remarked privately that his inability to communicate fluently was the greatest sorrow of his life. And yet his greatest gift of all was his storytelling, a gift made all the more remarkable by that stutter.

Fred worked for Spartan Mills from 1964 to 1997, volunteering during that time with Trees of Spartanburg and planting trees throughout the county. He later worked for the Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE), and he described that time as the happiest of his working life.

Fred is survived by his beloved wife of forty-five years, Patrice Weimert Parrish; his four children, Frederick Maxfield Parrish (Kristen Grissom) of Tryon, NC, Melissa Austin Parrish of Spartanburg, SC, Jenny Stewart Parrish Galloway (Brantly Kerchmar) of Columbus, NC, and Spartanburg, SC, and Susanna Byrne Parrish (Dr. R. Bracht Branham) of Berkeley, CA; seven grandchildren, Elizabeth Parrish Lipscomb (Abbie), Jackson Maxfield Parrish, Marian Ryan Galloway, Gaelan Galloway, Collin Hill Galloway, Benjamin Parrish Pittman and Isabel Austin Pittman; and two brothers, Stephen Parrish of Spartanburg, SC, and Dr. Thomas Irwin Dashiell, Jr., (Sherry) of Greenville, SC. He is also survived by his first wife and the mother of his three oldest children, Pamela McDougald of Columbus, NC, who remains in the family circle; his lifelong best friend, Larry B. Mahaffey of Elon, NC; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and loving friends. Last but definitely not least, he leaves his three beloved and faithful dogs, Bucky, Scout and Flora, who brought him so much joy during the last few years of his life. Fred was preceded in death by his sister, Marian “Sissy” Dashiell Ballenger.

The family extends its appreciation and warmest thanks to Spartanburg Regional Hospice for the gentle and loving care given to Fred during the last two months of his life.

Memorial service will be 11:00 AM on Thursday, November 12, 2026 in Episcopal Church of The Advent.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Spartanburg Area Conservancy, the Spartanburg Humane Society, or Spartanburg Regional Hospice.

Fred loved life and loved people, especially his family and his many, many friends. His cheer, his wicked and joyful humor and his bountiful energy will be enormously missed by all who knew and loved him.