John PARNELL

1937 - 2018

PARNELL, John A. "Jake" Age 81, of Kettering, OH passed away Monday, May 28, 2018. Born January 11, 1937 to John and Catharine Parnell, he has a sister, Joan Donavan who resides in Bay Village, OH. Jake grew up in Lakewood, OH and attended St. Edwards High School. There he played football, ran track and is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame. He then attended the University of Dayton where he played football and graduated with a degree in Business and Education. He continued to pursue his love of football playing for the Dayton Triangles, a professional team that later became part of the NFL franchise. In 1964, Jake started his career at Archbishop Alter High School. There he held various positions including Business Manager, Teacher, Coach and Voice of the Knights. He retired in 2005 after 41 years. In retirement he loved spending time with his family, vacations at the beach and attending his grandchildren's many activities. He was married for 49 years to his loving wife Gloria. Together they had four children, Tony, Nikki(Brad) Lawson, Stacey(Jason) Sheets, Jackie(Ryan) Williams and 11 grandchildren, Lilly, Grace, Ava, Jacob, Carter, Noah, Abi, Paige, Phoebe, Avery and Sydney. We will always remember his enthusiasm for life, infamous one-liners, and his smile that lit up a room. The family would like to thank Gem City Home Care for all their help and support over the years. The family will receive friends Thursday, June 7th from 4-8pm at Westbrock Funeral Home on Bigger Rd. And on Friday, June 8th from 9:30-10:30am at St. Charles Church in Kettering, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial. In Lieu of flowers we are asking donations be made to Alter High School to help fund scholarships for kids. You can make check payable to Alter High School and put "in memory of Jake Parnell" in memo line.