Atha Parnes

Parnes Atha Parnes, Columbus, OH, died April 1, 2013 at Riverside Hospital. She was in the company of loving family, and passed peacefully from life to death. Atha was born Atha Rose Brackemyre on September 30, 1923, in Mahomet, Illinois. She grew up a farm girl, in a large and happy family. She was the last surviving child of Hazel and Price Brackemyre. After completing high school, Atha attended secretarial school in Champaign, Illinois, and worked nearby as a secretary on Chanute Field Air Force Base. There, she met and married a young soldier, Herbert S. Parnes. She moved with him to Pittsburgh, PA and later to Columbus, OH. She hosted many parties for the faculty of the Department of Economics at OSU where her husband was professor. Atha and Herb built a home in South Harwich, Cape Cod, MA, where they lived each year from late spring to early fall, and hosted visits from three generations of family members. Herb died in 2006. Atha is survived by her son, Marc Parnes (Judy) of Columbus; daughters, Jane Parnes (Bill Persi) of Columbus and Gail Jones (Terry) of Franktown, CO. She loved her children, her children-in-law, her seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She left them the legacy of her love of the beauties of nature, especially flowers and birds. She will be missed and remembered by them all. As per her wishes, she will be buried in a family plot in Riverside Cemetery, Mahomet, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the Mid Ohio Food Bank: (www.midohiofoodbank.org) or the Columbus Medical Association Foundation (www.goodhealthcolumbus.org/cmaf). Condolences may also be offered at www.owensfuneralhomes.com.