William "Bill" Orestal Parrish, Jr.

William "Bill" Orestal Parrish, Jr., age 76, of Gulfport, passed away on December 31, 2023.  

William Orestal Parrish, Jr. was born on November 26, 1947 in Laurel, MS to Bill and Christine Parrish.  Bill (or Billy depending on when you met him) was raised in Laurel with his three sisters:  Cheryl, Joan, and Leslie.  Bill graduated from R. H. Watkins High School in 1965 and attended the University of Mississippi.  He joined the United States Army in 1969.  

Also in 1969, he met Marilyn Kyle and they married the following year.  In 1971, their son, William Scott Parrish was born.  They settled in Gulfport and in 1975, their daughter, Staci Elizabeth Parrish was born.

Bill started his post-military career in car sales with Bubba Oustalet, moving to Watkins Olds Cadillac where he spent the majority of the next twenty years.  His success took him on memorable trips to Lake Tahoe, Honolulu and Maui.  In the mid 1990s, Bill changed careers and joined his mother’s real estate appraisal business where he excelled in this new industry, maintaining long-standing relationships with Hancock Bank and Peoples Bank on the Coast.  

Bill retired 2011 which allowed him to spend more time watching golf and rooting for Ole Miss and the New Orleans Saints.  Often the only Ole Miss fan in the family, he wore his Colonel Reb visor religiously.  He stood in line for hours to get everyone autographed copies of Drew Brees’ book after the Saints finally won the Super Bowl in 2010.  

Starting in the 1980s and going until the club’s closure, Bill was a fixture at the Broadwater Beach Sea Course where he played golf every weekend.  Such was his love of golf that he built a home on the 17th tee of the golf course and installed a 3 hole putting green in the backyard of one of the family’s homes.  He and Marilyn built multiple homes, fondly referring to each by their street name in family stories.  He coached Scott’s little league games and cheered Staci while she was a cheerleader.  He proudly drove the whole family to see Scott graduate from the United States Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, SC and he practiced for weeks before Staci’s wedding vowing not to mess up his lines.    

Bill also very much enjoyed a night out at Timothy O’Sullivan’s (TO’s) and participated in many dart tournaments.  He was an enthusiastic supporter of gaming along the Coast.  

He is preceded in death by his parents William O. Parrish, Sr. and Christine Glenn Parrish, his youngest sister Leslie Parrish Adcock, and his grandparents Andy and Ada Parrish and W.I. and Katie Glenn, all of Laurel.  

Bill is survived by his immediate family Marilyn Kyle Parrish of BIloxi, Scott Parrish of Atlanta, Staci Parrish Crown (Andrew) of Chicago, Cheryl Parrish Jordan (Mike) of Laurel, Joan Parrish Tomlinson of Knoxville.  

His seven grandchildren who knew him as Pop are: Grace Parrish Horton (Chris) of Virginia Beach, Sarah Parrish Alvarez (Aidan) of Dallas, Daniel Parrish, Nick Newton, Nate Newton all of Atlanta, Brooke Newton of Oxford, and Eli Crown of Chicago.  He is also missed by his great grandchildren Caroline Horton and Lydia Horton both of Virginia Beach.  He has numerous nieces and nephews, to whom he was Uncle Billy.  Finally, he is survived by his most treasured and steadfast loved one, Pepper who hated most men but loved Pop immensely.    

The family would like to thank the incredible medical care given to Bill by the United States Veterans Administration, the VA Health Care System, and Keesler Medical Center in Biloxi. 

Visitation will be held on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at Riemann Family Funeral Home, 274 Beauvoir Road, Biloxi, from 11:30am-12:30pm.  Funeral services will be at 12:30pm in the chapel with interment to follow at Biloxi National Cemetery.  The family will host a reception at the funeral home from 2:00-4:00pm after the interment.