Johnny Ray Parish, II was born on August 12, 1968, in Starkville, Mississippi, to John and Linda Parish. He grew up in Jackson, MS, where he graduated from Woodland Hills Baptist Academy in 1987. John graduated from Mississippi State University in 1992 with a B.S. in Computer Engineering and worked as a Service Practice Lead for Software Defined WAN and LAN Architectures for World Wide Technology. In 2004, he married Amanda Johnson of Jackson, and they welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Megan, to the world in 2007.
John is survived by his wife and daughter of Prosper, TX; his parents and sister, Amy Parish, of Savannah, TX; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.
John was a third generation Mississippi State engineer who showed an early aptitude for the field. One of his sister’s early memories was of John crawling through the house at top speed, laughing manically, and wielding a screwdriver that his mother had to hide from him every day. He would then head straight for his toys and dismantle them after which his mother boxed up the remains until he was old enough to put them back together.
John was devoted to his daughter, Megan, and said the highlight of his day was picking her up from school. Several years ago, Amanda told him he needed to get a hobby, so he began developing an ever growing, elaborate Christmas light display, set to music on an AM channel.
John and his family loved to go on cruises every year and made numerous trips to Disney and Universal Studios.
He was known for his quick wit, love of dogs, and the importance of caring for his family.
A Memorial Service will be held at Preston Trail Community Church - McKinney Campus, 1611 Wilmeth Road, McKinney, Texas 75069, on Saturday, August 1, 2020 beginning at 3:00 PM. In support of our local, state, and federal govt including CDC directives and to protect the physical health, safety, and well-being of our community, only 75 guests will be allowed to attend the Funeral Service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Preston Trail Community Church – McKinney Campus at https://prestontrail.org/give-main
To watch the service life stream, please visit Celebration of Life John Parish by Preston Trail Community Church