Jasper W. Parnell, 83, of Dartmouth, MA passed away Thursday, April 13, 2023 after a long illness.
Born in Florence, South Carolina and raised in Red Springs, North Carolina, Jasper “Jack”, the son of Elbert and Maude (Dorman) Parnell, learned how to take care of his family at an early age, and he took that responsibility seriously.
As he got older, that responsibility changed from “protect this house” to “protect this country”, which he did when he joined the Air Force in 1958/9.
Within his four years in the Air Force, Jack was stationed at Otis Air Force Base in Falmouth MA. He met his wife Barbara during night out in Cape Cod and they hit it off. They would marry on May 7, 1960, and begin a family. Within the next few years, they moved out of their apartment in the South End of New Bedford, bought a house in North Dartmouth, and had a house full of kids with the arrivals of Susan, David, and Jimmy.
After his time in the Air Force, Jack found his way back to Otis working as a mechanic and enlisting in the Air National Guard, which he remained a member for 28 years, retiring as a Master Sergeant.
Along with his wife, his happiest moments were spent with family during holidays, at birthday parties, and watching his grandchildren Alex Goodwin, Elyse Goodwin, Andrew Goodwin, Emily Goodwin, David Parnell, Madison Parnell, Harrison Parnell, and Olivia Parnell perform, whether it be in dance recitals, school events, or watching one of their baseball, basketball, football, field hockey, or soccer games.
He is survived by Barbara Parnell, his wife of 63 years; daughter Susan Goodwin and partner Skip Kaiser, son David Parnell, and son James Parnell and wife Kimberly as well as his sisters Virginia, Linda, and Frankie and his brother Butch.
His funeral will be held on Wednesday April 19th at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford, followed by his Funeral Mass at St. Julie Billiart Church, Dartmouth at 10 AM. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Tuesday April 18th from 4-7 PM. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.