Blanche A Parr

1884 - 1987  (103 years)

• Name	Blanche A Parr
  Nickname	Pete
  Born	18 Jul 1884	Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas
  Gender	Female
  Died	30 Dec 1987	Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas
  Buried	31 Dec 1987	Rossville Cemetery, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas
  Person ID	I5675	Rossville
  Last Modified	5 Apr 2020

  
  

  Father	Andrew Jackson Parr,   b. 3 Mar 1854, Harmony, Clay County, Indiana ,   d. 22 Apr 1935, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 81 years)
  Mother	Cyrene Matilda Holter Parr,   b. 29 Apr 1857, Pomery, Meggs County, Ohio ,   d. 6 Jul 1923, Rossville, Shawnee County, Kansas  (Age 66 years)
  Married	19 Mar 1879	Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas
  Family ID	F1807	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents » Slide Show		Obituary- Parr, Blanche Blanche Parr Private burial services were Thursday, December 31, 1987, at Rossville, who died Wednesday, December 30, 1987, at a Rossville nursing home. Miss Parr spent her life in the Rossville community. Davidson Funeral Home in Topeka was in charge of arrangements. A feature article was printed in the "The St. Marys Star", July 7, 1985, issue on Miss Parr's 101st birthday.
  		Birthday- Parr, Blanche 4 Blanche Parr observed her 102nd birthday this month. Blanche keeps busy with reading, and oil painting in the weekly classes taught by Becky Little. As soon as Blanche finishes a painting, her niece takes them home for family members. Photo by Belinda Driscoll
  		Birthday- Parr, Blanche 1 There Will Be 101 Candles on Pet's Birthday Cake Don't let her white hair fool you! Blanche Parr is quite an active 101 years old and is a delight to visit. July 18, 1985 marks her 101st birthday and, believe it or not, her 101st year as a resident of Rossville, the community where she was born. Photo by Belinda Driscoll
  		Birthday- Parr, Blanche 2 by Dorothy N. Hoobler On Thursday, July 18, Miss Blanche Parr, a resident of Rossville Valley Manor, will be 101 years of age. "But I'm not going to celebrate," she said [ ]. "I celebrated too much last year, with three cakes and three parties. Then I got sick, and I came here to live." In her room hangs a memento of the occasion, a 100th birthday "best wishes" plaque from the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging. Blanche is an amazingly alert, [ ] independent person. Only [ ] snow white hair betrays her [age]. Her eyes are bright, and [ ] snap on occasion. They also sparkle when she laughs, and that's much more frequently. She really misses being in her home at 442 Orange Street, where she was born and lived for her first 100 years. Her grandfather, John Wesley Parr, came from Indiana. His sons, Jim and [ ], settled on the rich farmland [ ] of the new and thriving little town on Cross Creek. Son, Andrew Jackson Parr, however, Blanche's father, preferred being a carpenter. He built the stately, [ ]-story farm house where he was born. With the big bay windows, and its two columned porches, it must have been quite a showplace. There were lots of fruit trees, [ ], peaches, apples, and cherries, and a grove of walnut trees. Like most people, the Parrs had a big garden. The children grew up doing their share of the chores in the house and garden. "We were always [ ] to work. We were expected to help, and we did," she [ ] matter-of-factly. Blanche remembers the town yard, the brick yard, the hotel, and the Opera House. Their home was just one-half block from the new school, a fine two-story, four-room red brick building. Blanche's mother, Cyrene Matilda, a former Lawrence school teacher, gave them their first lessons at home - no kindergarten a century ago. She insisted that all homework had to be done the first thing after supper. "Then we played," Blanche remembered. There were card games like "Authors, checkers, marbles, and spin tops," the old-timer tops that you'd wind up and throw," she explained. "And I had a top, too, just like my brother's," she smiled. Miss Parr spoke with such loving admiration of her parents. "We really had good parents," she emphasized. "We never came home, but that our parents were there. They were always home at nights, too. Dad read to us, while Mother mostly mended and knitted socks for Dad. And we had apples and walnuts to eat." And here, her eyes snapped as she observed, "Parents shouldn't neglect their children the way some people do now. That's why kids go wrong." Blanche reminisced about church activities, too. "Grandpa Parr was a good old Methodist. My Dad used to tell how he and Grandma (Catherine) hitched the team to the lumber wagon, filled it with straw, loaded up the kid, and came to town for church. The boys would be so hungry before they got home at 2 in the afternoon." She remembered the church programs, too. "There were a bunch of little Parrs running [not sure if some is missing here or not]. Brothers Jim, Joe, and A.J. had a combined total of 20. "And there were a lot of Resers, too," she added. She had vivid memories of the 1903 flood which devastated so much of the town as well as the farm land to the south, when the bank-full Cross Creek waters couldn't empty into the over-flowing Kaw. Uncles Jim and Joe were marooned, along with many of their neighbors, as the muddy waters rapidly inched higher. A Rossville newspaperman, U.G. Stewart, described in vivid detail how several local carpenters, including A.J. Parr, built a crude boat, the "Sally Ann," and sailed through raging current to rescue the stranded families. "Uncle Jim's stayed with us until they could get back home," she recalled. The flood waters covered only one corner of A.J.'s yard. Did she remember anything special about childhood birthdays? "I had friend chicken and peach pie!" she laughed, and this time, her eyes really sparkled. "Mother made lots of pies, Dad like pies, and mother liked to bake, and she used whatever fruit was ready. "I was the only one with a birthday in the summer. It was so hot, and I was the middle child. I always figured I got a little cheated!" she exclaimed with a laugh. Then she quickly added, "But I didn't! Mother and Dad didn't have a favorite child. And we weren't allowed to fight, either. We could defend ourselves, but we couldn't pick on each other. And even after we grew up, we still helped each other."
  		Birthday- Parr, Blanche 3 difficult." Before, I always did exactly what I wanted to do. Now I have to follow orders. And it ain't easy!" she admits frankly. "Now all I can do is sit and read." She enjoys reading, every thing from mystery stories to travelogues. "That gives you a different view of countries and how other people live," observed this remarkable lady. She finds the large print books and magazines a great help. Blanche shared wisdom gained throughout her 101 years. "If you're not busy, you don't feel good. A person needs to be working and learning something new. Try a new recipe, make a new dress, or work in the garden. Just get out of a rut," she advises. We'd spent an interesting afternoon, and I came away with a great respect for the lady who spoke so lovingly of parents who'd been gone so many years and of their family life. The children all had nicknames, a practice which annoyed her mother, since Cyrene Matilda Parr had taken great care in selecting names for her children. (Blanche was named for a favorite teacher friend.) "Dad called me "Pet," and I must have been ten years old before anyone at school knew my name was Blanche," she laughed. Then thoughtfully she mused, "Looking back, I wonder. Why did Dad call me 'Pet'?" Well, Pet, I think I can answer that question. What better name could your loving, caring father choose for his smiling, bright-eyed little girl? Perhaps you won't celebrate with 101 candles on a cake this year, Miss Blanche, but here are 101 wishes for a very happy birthday. Thanks for letting all of us share in your warm memories, too. [Caption for photo of house] The grandeur of this old house is evident even after more than a century. Blanche Parr still has many vivid memories of life within this home she has known since childhood. Photo Belinda Driscoll