Lora Nita Parsons

Lora Nita Parsons, age 64, died from a brain aneurysm at Blount Memorial Hospital on October 28, 2014. Lora Nita was a gentle, caring, elegant woman who was full of life with a goodness possessed by few. As a graduate of Texas Tech with a masters degree in library science from Ohio University, she taught public school for 21 years in Anchorage and Eagle River, Alaska. After her retirement, she and her husband, Dean Parsons, moved to Maryville, Tennessee. As was her custom, Lora Nita made many friends and actively participated in the community. She attended New Hope Baptist Church and was a longtime member of the Blount County New Comers Club. Additionally, Mrs. Parsons created and handcrafted fabulous note cards which she readily used to bring joy to her friends and family, especially in light of recent times when an impersonal e-mail has taken the place of a beautifully handwritten letter. She was a member of the Stampers Group and shared her knowledge of card making by occasionally teaching her craft to other members. As a jewelry maker, Lora Nita used her talent for making bracelets to raise money for Relay for Life. Everyone who knew Lora Nita knew she loved to travel. She and her husband, Dean, traveled extensively in their Allegro Bus enjoying adventures throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Lora Nita was preceded in death by her father, Elbert Truman Burgess, and her mother Jewell Abshire Burgess, both of Fort Worth, Texas. She was survived and will be greatly missed by her husband, Dean Parsons; her sister, Trumanell Maples and her husband Fred of Decatur, Texas; her nephew, James Maples and his wife, Tara of North Richland Hills, Texas; and her great nephews, Westin and Eli Maples. Although not their biological mother, Lora Nita was also survived by three children whom she loved as her own: Anthony Parsons and his wife, Debbie, of Nome, Alaska; Angela Ginnett and her husband, Michael of Anchorage, Alaska and Kimberly Williams of Charleston, West Virginia, as well as a grandson, Allen Ginnett, of Anchorage, Alaska and a granddaughter, Jennifer Shonts and her husband, Josh, of Centreville, Maryland and two great grandchildren, Maryssa and Luke Thompson. Services in honor of Lora Nita's remarkable spirit and life will be held on October 31, 2014 at Smith Funeral Home located at 1402 Tuckaleechee Pike, Maryville, Tennessee with a private viewing for family and special friends to be held at 12:00 Noon followed by a funeral officiated by Reverend Michael Parker of New Hope Baptist Church at 2:00 p.m. and receiving of friends to begin at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Grandview Cemetery. Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, Maryville, 865-983-1000, www.SmithFuneralandCremation.com. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Lora Nita Parsons please visit our Sympathy Store.