He was born on October 29, 1928, to the late Allen and Pearl Hall Parsley at Road Branch near Maher, WV. A lifelong resident of Mingo County, Treetop was a member of the Parsley Bottom FWB Church, Lenore, WV, where he served as Sunday School treasurer and teacher. He was a graduate of Lenore High School where he excelled in playing basketball and loafing. He was a veteran of the army where he served in communications. He worked for Island Creek Coal Company as a section boss before becoming a mine foreman for Davis Coal Company. He then went into business with his brothers, forming the Parsley CATV Company. He retired in 1987.
Jay was an avid story teller, especially those stories that would make people laugh. He enjoyed singing, playing practical jokes, visiting the poor and elderly, and just riding slowly around the various hills and hollows that comprise Mingo County. He played the piano, enjoyed blues and bluegrass music.
Survivors include his loving wife of fifty-two years, Betty Mayhone Parsley; son, John Dexter Parsley and wife Dyann, of Cleburne , TX; daughter, Carole Parsley of Williamson; son, Allen Parsley, Jr. and wife Beth of Huntington; daughter, Teresa Matney and husband Mike of Hurricane, WV; brother, Robert Lee (R L) and wife Patty of Lenore; grandchildren, Katherine Hollingsworth, Sarah Taylor, Emily G. Cloer, Katie E. Parsley, Zane A. Parsley, Chloe E. Trigg, and Nathan S. Matney. He also had two special nieces whom he considered his grandchildren, Dr. Deidre Parsley of Ashland, KY, and Dr. Sybil Parsley of Charleston, WV. He was preceded in death by siblings Irene Mayhone, Donna Thompson, Carl, Bill, and Gene Parsley.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 31st, at the Parsley Bottom FWB Church at 1:00 PM with the Reverends Ray Taylor, Mike Smith, and Wallace Mullins officiating. Visitation will be held Wednesday, December 30th from 6 to 9 PM at the church. Pallbearers will be nephews, Carl and David Parsley, grandsons, Zane Parsley and Nathan Matney, friends of the family, Adam Adams, Charles Eubanks, and Mathew Chittenden. Honorary pallbearers will be Rhodes Ooten, Kenneth Whited, and James Jude. In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made in Jay’s memory to the Parsley Bottom FWB Church to purchase songbooks.
Benton, Tn.
Formally of Laurel Creek
Harold Ray Newsome
112 Hickory Ridge, Waynesville, MO 65583. Also, an Army veteran.
My dad knew that education was important, even if it was self taught. He taught himself many things including cutting stone, whittling wood, playing the piano, and building many things. I always knew that he was the smartest man I ever met and the most talented.
He is and always be my dad and my hero.