Lenora Roberts Parnell

Lenora Roberts Parnell, 85, long-time Columbia resident, died Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at Maury Regional Medical Center. A memorial service will be conducted Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Joe Evans officiating. The family will visit with friends in the church parlor immediately following the service. Honorary pallbearers include Harold Lucas, Jim Castleberry, Bill Handy, Donny Walters, David Locke, Jean Locke, Ron Neal, Wanda Turner, Mary Dale, Virginia Meece, Sid Garten, Poppi Carden, Page Chamberlain, and Telephone Pioneers of America. The family suggests memorials to First Presbyterian Church, 801 South High Street, Columbia 38401 or Girl Scouts of America, 4522 Granny White Pike, Nashville, 37204. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. Born May 25, 1926 in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, she was the daughter of the late James Reed Roberts and Ella Cain Roberts. She graduated from Soddy-Daisy High School and attended the Chattanooga Business School. She worked for Southern Bell Telephone Company and subsequently for Tennessee Valley Authority in Chattanooga, and for five years was the dedicated secretary at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia. Mrs. Parnell was active in teaching children in the Presbyterian Church and Girl Scouts of America from which she received the "Thank You Badge." She was an accredited Flower Show Judge and an avid Bridge player. She lent countless hours to the church and provided care to numerous church members and others in Columbia. She was married September 1, 1946 to James E. Parnell, who survives. She is also survived by her children, Debi (Don) Totty of Franklin, Bo Parnell of Old Hickory, and Terry (Jan) Parnell of Wilder, Kentucky; grandchildren, Chris Totty, Jonathon Totty, Patrick Totty, Rachel Parnell, Katie Parnell, and Grace Parnell; sisters, Bernice Byrd of Jackson, Mississippi, and Pat Sully of Atlanta, Georgia. She was preceded in death by sisters, Betha Higgins, Vera Payne, Carrie Nancy Jane Roberts, LaVada Byrd, Emma Mae Burdette, Mavis Webb, Nellie Greenwood; and brother, Dennis Roberts.