DONALD HOLCOMBE PARSONS

Family-Placed Obituary

DONALD HOLCOMBE PARSONS Donald Holcombe Parsons, a longtime Palm Beach resident, died Monday, July 22, 2012 at Arden Courts Assisted Living in West Palm Beach of Alzheimer's Disease. He was 82. Mr. Parsons was born on June 17, 1930 in Detroit, MI to Katharine Babst and George Holcombe Parsons, also Palm Beach residents. He grew up in Devon, PA and attended The Haverford School. Later he went on to attend Phillips Academy Andover (1948), Yale University (B.A. 1952) and the University of Michigan (L.L.B. 1955 and M.B.A. 1956). After law school, Mr. Parsons lived in Birmingham, MI where he was founder and managing partner of the Michigan-based law firm Parsons, Tennant, Hammond, Hardig and Ziegelman. A banking pioneer, he formed a group of partnerships that owned 25 commercial banks located throughout the Midwest during the mid to late 1960s operating under the name of The Parsons Group. Also an avid hockey fan, he was managing partner of the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL professional hockey team in the late 1960s. Mr. Parsons later ran several real estate developments, including Litchfield Plantation in Pawleys Island, SC, Cedar Hill in Cashiers, NC and Club at Lake Pointe in northern Michigan. At age 11, Mr. Parsons contracted polio while at summer camp and was told he would never walk again. With characteristic determination, he overcame this and went on to participate in school sports, tennis doubles and ballroom dancing. He enjoyed memberships at many clubs, including the Bath and Tennis Club and the Beach Club in Palm Beach, The Chicago Club of Charlevoix, MI and the Cedar Creek Racket Club in Cashiers, NC. Mr. Parsons is survived by his wife of 37 years, Louise Price Parsons, of West Palm Beach, FL; his children, James Angell Parsons of New Canaan, CT, Sarah Babst Parsons of Fairfield, CT, Donald Holcombe Parsons, Jr. of Denver, CO, Adam Clay Parsons of Greenville, SC and eight grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister, Jean Parsons Warner. He is also survived by his first wife, Sally Angell Parsons of Birmingham, MI. To express condolences and/or make donations Visit PalmBeachPost.com/obituaries