Foy E. Parrish, 82, of Ludlow, IL, died in the early evening of Tuesday, October 5th, 2021, at Country Health and Rehab in Gifford, IL.
A celebration of his life will be held from 1:00 – 5:00 P.M. Saturday, November 6th, at the Middle Fork River Forest Preserve Activity Center at 3485 CR 2700 E. Penfield, IL. Arrangements are being handled by Lux Memorial Chapel in Rantoul, IL.
Mr. Parrish was born April 30, 1939, in Vina, Alabama, a son of Jeff and Hattie (Hacker) Parrish. He married Harriet (Allen) Parrish on Dec. 19, 1963, at Waukegan.
He is survived by his first wife, Alice (Trisler) Skenandore of Milwaukee, WI.
Also surviving are eight children, Margaret Davis of Milwaukee, WI, Faye Whitehead of Inverness, FL, Jeff (Rhonda) Parrish of Anderson, IN, Bill (Jamie Leigh) Parrish of Noblesville, IN, Tim (Connie) Parrish of Gifford, Gabby (Terry) Peters of Paxton, Jamie Parrish of Ludlow and Jason (Miranda) Parrish of Farmer City; 24 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter.
He was preceded in death by his wife Harriet, his parents, and eight brothers and four sisters.
Mr. Parrish was a professional musician. His career started when he was 13 receiving his first guitar and singing hymns in church. His career spanned nine decades. In the mid 50’s, he travelled to Cleveland to go play music with his older brother Junior. He and his twin brother Floyd released their first single in 1959 entitled “This Is It”, which was a regional hit in the Cleveland area. During that time the Parrish Brothers formed, consisting of Foy, Floyd, Junior and Curtis, all brothers. Several more singles followed, and the band moved west to Wisconsin and then Minnesota. There Junior retired and younger brother Odell joined the band. During the next five years, they released three albums, several singles, and performed on a weekly television show in the Rochester, MN area. The mid-1970’s brought him and the band to Central Illinois and a permanent residency at the Prairie Lands in Thomasboro, IL. After several years in Illinois, two brothers decided it was time to move to Florida and the band went on hiatus. Foy and Floyd stayed in Illinois and soon began making music with Foy’s sons Tim and Jeff. They released another album in 1985. Then they began travelling to Minnesota for more engagements. Finally, in the 1990’s, Foy retired in Illinois. In May 2006, the Parrish Brothers were inducted into the Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fame (now re-named the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame) for their achievements in music in the Minnesota area.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, please make donations in Foy’s name to the American Heart Association
