Sunday's Obituary: Viola (Hayes) Parsons

Mrs. L. D. Parsons, 50, Former Women's Dean At ETSTC, Succumbs

     COMMERCE, Texas, Sept. 22---Mrs. L. D. Parsons, 50, of this city died in a Dallas hospital Monday. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at the First Methodist Church here with the Rev. T. L. Huffstutler, Electra, and the Rev. Joseph M. Connally, Commerce, officiating.

     Mrs. Parsons was the wife of L. D. Parsons, who last week became head of the chemistry department of East Texas Teachers College, where he has taught since 1929.

     Mrs. Parsons at one time taught at ETSTC and was dean of women for several years. She was a charter member of the Woman's Missionary Society of the Methodist Church here and has served as president of the society several terms. She also was a member of the Psychology Club.

     Besides her husband, survivors are two daughters, Mrs. T. L. Huffstutler Jr., Winston-Salem, N.C., and Miss Zinita Parsons, teacher at Mineola; one son, Binnion Parsons of Commerce; two half brothers, Arthur Hays and Walker Hays; and one half sister, Mrs. Bess Whittaker, all of Indianapolis, Ind., and one grandchild.

Viola was the niece of my paternal great grandfather, Oliver Morton Wallen. She was the daughter of his sister Mary J. (Wallen) Hayes. She had a sister Ora, who I believe to have been her twin, that died at about 3 and 1/2 years of age. When Viola's mother died just two years after her sister's death, Viola or "Ola" as she was called then, went to live with her mother's family. Viola made the trek from Kentucky to Texas with her uncle Oliver and his family, her uncle Jesse Wallen, and her great grandmother, Louisa (Tyree) Wallen. Louisa and Viola lived part of the time with another of Viola's uncles, Daniel Thomas Wallen near Gainesville, Texas where Viola started teaching school.

I know that Viola's children, Reba Maurine (Mickey) Huffstutler, Zinita Viola Fowler, and Binnion Deloss Parsons have all passed away in recent years, but I would love to hear from any of their families.

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