Remembering Dick Parrish
• A walk down memory lane with Dick & Elaine from Downey to Mariposa
A young Rob Parrish (Dick & Elaine's son)
Dick, Mark Schoch (back of head), Amber Kuest, Jill Weiss, Noelle Kuest, Natalie Miller, Karon Schoch (serving pie)
• Thanks for putting names to the faces, Mark.
Dick and Pat Hoferer at Angeles Crest Christian Camp
Dick playing cards with Jim LeGros, Bob Belcher and Steve DeSavino at Angeles Crest Christian Camp
Elaine & Friends
Elaine
Winter Retreat 1973
Winter Retreat 1975
Elaine 
Dick 
Dick & Elaine 1985
Bruce Pickard (center) and Dick Parrish (far left) help Craig extract his family’s 1985 Mercury from a snowbank.
(Mariposa - December 1987)
Warming up back at Bruce and Joanne Pickard’s place located just down the road from Dick and Elaine’s home.
(Mariposa - December 1987)
The new Judge Parrish of Mariposa County (Aug 16, 2002)
Bruce Pickard, Judge Wayne Richard Parrish, Lyle Parrish (Aug 16, 2002)
Judge Parrish takes the oath of office while Elaine holds the Bible (Aug 16, 2002)
Lunch in Mariposa (2009)
Jim LeGros, Dick, Valerie McNabb, Elaine, Charlotte LeGros
Joanne Pickard, Mike McNabb, Bruce Pickard
The following photos and captions are from the Mariposa Gazette. The date shown is the date of publication.
https://www.mariposagazette.com/
12/23/2010
Court appointed special advocates, Om Channa (left) and Dyann Van Dusen (right), were sworn in by the Honorable Wayne R. Parrish at the Mariposa County Courthouse on Dec. 10. They have been assigned to assist children who are dependents of the court.
5/19/2011
Janet Kottman (right), executive director of CASA, is pictured working with Judge Parrish, advocating for foster children in Mariposa County for going above and beyond in addressing the needs of the community.
5/31/2012
New Court Appointed Special Advocates Brian Wass, Linda Erhardt and Mali Gosney were sworn in on Wednesday, May 16, by Judge Parrish (second from left).
5/31/2012
Judge Parrish swore in new CASA board members Mary Bass, Lori Meisner and Sheila Paige also on Wednesday, May 16.
9/27/2012
Mariposa County Superior Court Judge Wayne Parrish swears in one of the newest members of the Juvenile Justice Commission for Mariposa County, Shawnee Long.
3/28/2013
CASA of Mariposa County has introduced Cindy Volpa (pictured at right with Judge Parrish) as its newest CASA volunteer advocate. CASA advocates must complete a 30-hour training program, complete a background check, and take an oath. However, Volpa’s efforts will make a difference in the lives of Mariposa County foster youth.
4/18/2013
Caroline Furth (pictured at left) was recently sworn as the new executive director of CASA of Mariposa County. She is pictured with Mariposa County Superior Court Judges Dana Walton (center) and Wayne Parrish.
1/30/2014
Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) members gathered in December to celebrate Christmas with a toy gift exchange at the home of Wayne and Elaine Parrish (top left). The group collected toys and donated them to KOPS for KIDS program to be distributed in Mariposa County.
5/1/2014
McKenna Marchetti, left, and Laurynn Leonard, right, were sworn in as members of the Mariposa County Juvenile Justice Commission on April 16 by Mariposa County Superior Court Judge Wayne R. Parrish at the Mariposa County Courthouse. Both young women are sophomores at Mariposa County High School and were selected to serve a two-year term on the commission.
9/11/2014
TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) No. 1369 in Mariposa held its annual installation of officers in August. From left, officers include leader Elaine Parrish, co-leader Maggie Searles, secretary Jean Britt, Becky Collins, Sherry Nye standing in for weight recorder Sue Phillips, assistant weight recorder Jackie Mc- Cormick and treasurer Cameron Burley.
11/6/2014
The Honorable Wayne R. Parrish, right, retired on Oct. 31 after serving 12 years as a Mariposa Superior Court judge. Seen here at left, Judge F. Dana Walton thanked Judge Parrish for his service last week.
Judge Wayne R. Parrish, who has served on Mariposa Superior Court’s bench for more than 12 years, officially retired on Halloween. That said, Parrish was scheduled to return to work on Monday. He’ll serve as an interim judge at the historic courthouse at least through the end of November, he said last week.
“I tried to retire once before,” he said by way of explanation. Around 1988, he left the freeways of Los Angeles for the foothills at wife Elaine’s urging. Before long, however, he had joined the county counsel’s office in Merced County. That stint of service lasted 14 years.
After L.A., life in Mariposa has been “wonderful,” he said. He and Elaine have enjoyed good luck too. During the recent Bridge Fire, he realized they had picked the right side of Highway 49 South to live on. (The south side—away from the fire, he joked.)
Parish has seen it all — and heard it all — in his time in the old courthouse. “I’ve had pretty much everything, from traffic tickets to homicides,” he said last week. Elected to the bench in June, incoming Superior Court Judge Mike Fagalde will take up his gavel in January.
12/25/2014
Members of TOPS CA 1369 of Mariposa once again supported the Kops for Kids program by donating a large array of toys from the annual TOPS Christmas party at the home of Elaine Parrish on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Shown here with some of the toys they donated, the group hopes the toys will bring smiles to the children of the local community.
8/6/2015
Take Off Pounds Sensibly, or TOPS, No. 1369 in Mariposa recently held its annual installation of officers. The officers, from left, include co-leader Maggie Searles, leader Elaine Parrish, treasurer Cameron Burley and assistant weight recorder James Phillips. Not pictured are secretary Jackie McCormick and weight recorder Sue Phillips.
12/24/2015
The home of Elaine Parrish was the scene of the TOPS annual Christmas potluck. Each member brought a dish to share, a canned food contribution for Manna House and a toy for the KOPS for KIDS distribution. Seasonal games were played and Christmas songs were sung.
10/27/2017
Elaine Parrish recently celebrated her 40th year as a member of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS).
She joined the group while living in Downey, Calif., and then continued her membership after moving to Mariposa. Parrish reached her goal weight (set by her doctor) during her first year in TOPS, becoming a KOPS (Keep Off Pounds Sensibly).
She has contributed her talents over the years as area “KOPS Kaptain Leader,” secretary, TOPS Area Recognition Days convention coordinator and weight recorder.
Forty yellow roses were awarded to Parrish for her 40 years of dedication to TOPS. The celebration culminated with a luncheon at the Charles Street Dinner House.
8/30/2019
Photos from Dick's celebration of life service
The Hon. Wayne Richard (Dick) Parrish passed away August 5, 2020, born July 3, 1938 to Jean and Belle Parrish in Bell, Calif. He was 82 when he went to be with the Lord.
His sister, Pat, and brother, Lyle, preceded him in death.
Dick was raised in Bell, California and met his wife Elaine of 61 years at Bell High School. While in high school they started dating when he was 17 and she was 15. They married in 1959 while he was going to college at USC, graduating with a degree in Business Administration.
Son Richard was born in 1961, a week after Dick started Law School at USC, working days and going to school at night. During his third year, son Robert was born.
He received his law degree and went to work for the Los Angeles County Counsel for 26 years, retiring at the age of 50. After retiring, Dick and Elaine moved to their dream home in Mariposa.
Dick started a small law practice at his home and worked part time for the Merced County Counsel. In 1988, their two oldest granddaughters, Heather, 4, and Jennifer, 2, came to live with them. It was soon after the girls came he was offered a full time job with Merced County and took it, working there 16 years.
When there was an opening for a Superior Court judge in Mariposa he ran for the judgeship and won. His term started in 2002. He retired at 76 years old in 2014 after serving two terms. He loved being a judge; it was the best job he ever had.
Hunting was his fun thing. Dick loved going to Idaho and Wyoming. The family ate what he brought home. It was interesting.
Dick loved the Lord, he became a Christian when he was 24. Working for the Lord was important to him. He and Elaine were youth sponsors for college kids, they always tried to out smart him and couldn’t do it. He’s been a teacher, deacon and elder. He was an elder at the Ponderosa Basin Chapel when he became ill after surgery.
He leaves behind his loving wife Elaine; sons, Rich (Helen) and Rob; granddaughters, Heather Bronnimann (Matt), Jennifer Martella (Mike), Tessarra Parrish and Devereaux Parrish; great- grandchildren Mary and Emily Bronnimann Ezra, Melanie and Roxanne Martella; step-grandson, Derek Conroy (Allison); and step-granddaughter, Megan Ehoff, (Brandon); step-great-grandson, Austin Ehoff; sister-in-law, Gloria Parrish; and nephews, Mike, Mark and Mitch Parrish.
We all loved him and he will be truly missed.
A Celebration of Life service will be Sunday August 30 at 5:00 p.m. outside across the street from the Ponderosa Basin Chapel at the volleyball court. Chairs will be available to sit where you want — bring your mask. Dress casual and a casual dinner will be provided. Let’s celebrate Dick’s life.
August 29, 2020
Remembering Dick...
Dick and Elaine Parrish sponsored the Downey church’s college age group of which I was a member in the early 1970s. I believe our entire group always looked forward to spending Sunday evenings at the Parrish home on 3rd Street after Sunday evening services. Dick challenged us with his astute legal mind as we studied various topics and Bible verses during our studies. He really made us think about our life choices and encouraged us to be critical thinkers about how we lived our lives as Christians.
At that time Dick served as a Deputy County Counsel with the County of Los Angles and I remember his mentioning about wanting to be a judge at some time in the future, though he knew that getting onto the bench in such a large county would not be an easy thing to do. We had no idea at the time that Dick and Elaine’s move to Mariposa in 1988 would help to make his aspiration to become a judge a reality.
Dick had an impressive stable of cars in his garage in the 1970s. The first was a striking blue 1968 Ford Torino GT Fastback with a 390 cu. in. V8. The other was a 1956 Ford F100 pickup truck which was powered by a Chrysler 440 cu. in. V8 and a Chrysler Torque-Flite automatic transmission. The truck had no functioning speedometer as no adapter had ever been made to connect it to the Chrysler transmission. It was painted in a bright orange color with black steel rims and was one very fast machine. I did some mechanical work on that truck for Dick by installing a dual point distributor in it and tuning it up. He was gracious enough to let me drive the truck and I even kept it overnight occasionally. I got my first and only speeding ticket in that truck here in Downey one evening. The unmarked police car that stopped me had some steam rising from its radiator and the officer remarked that he had had trouble keeping up with me as I was throttling down Lakewood Blvd. When asked if I knew how fast I was going I had absolutely no idea. I told Dick about the ticket and mentioned to him that I believed there was actually an error on the ticket as to where the incident had occurred. Dick advised that I should appear in court if I thought there were grounds to fight the ticket. I later appeared in court only to have the officer be a no-show that day and the ticket was dismissed. I learned two lessons that day. One, not to drive fast cars too fast and secondly to have the courage to follow through with something even if it was not a comfortable or stress-free thing to do.
We were able to visit Dick and Elaine a few times after their move to Mariposa. Our first visit was during the winter months and I managed to get our family sedan stuck in a small snow bank when I was turning around to come back to their house after missing their driveway off of Highway 49. I had begun hiking down the highway as a mild snow fell so that I could get back to Dick’s place to get some help with our car. Remember, there were no cell phones in everyone’s pockets at that time. A passing motorist stopped and picked me up since they saw that I was walking along the highway shoulder in the cold and snow. They brought me to Dick and Elaine’s place. Dick and Bruce Pickard then brought a chain and vehicle to our stranded car where my wife and three kids were all waiting. Our car was pulled out and we later had a nice visit with everyone at Dick & Elaine’s place after our unplanned adventure in the snow.
Some years later my wife, Denny, and I visited Yosemite and then stopped in Mariposa. We went to the Mariposa County courthouse where we had the privilege of sitting in on the courtroom proceedings of Judge Wayne Richard Parrish while Bruce Pickard served as his bailiff. That is one scene which I could have never predicted back in the 1970s. Unfortunately I have no photo record of that day as cameras and cell phones were prohibited in the courtroom. That courtroom is known to be the longest continuously active courthouse west of the Rocky Mountains. When court adjourned, we enjoyed having lunch with Dick and Elaine and Bruce and Joanne Pickard.
I look back on my college days and the times which I spent at the Parrish home with fondness and a sense of gratitude. I believe that Dick and Elaine were both mentors to me as well as stand-in parents to me during my college years as I transitioned to being an adult with corresponding responsibilities. I know they were missed in Downey after their move to Mariposa and I am glad that I was able to visit them the few times that I was able to. It is hard to believe that 50+ years have passed since their early days in Downey. Dick will certainly be missed, especially by Elaine, his family and his friends. I know that Dick would have still counted me as a friend but I am now aware of how much has changed in both of our lives over the decades. I will not forget Dick or the relationship that we had but I have also had the somewhat whimsical thought that I should find a nice used 1968 Ford Torino GT, that I should buy it and park in the driveway so that whenever I drove it I could think about him and the good memories that I still keep.
I hope this page has been a blessing and brought your own memories to mind. I pray that Elaine, Rich, Rob and all of the family are comforted in their time of loss. Eternity waits for all of us, unfortunately some must be admitted earlier than others and we must be content to wait our turn to be with those who have gone ahead of us.
With love and thanks,
-Craig
To the best of my memory, this photo is very close to the 1968 Ford Torino GT which Dick owned. I include it here to show why I was impressed with it as a college age young man as it was definitely considered to be a ‘muscle car’ in its day.
[Note – All of the photos on this page are full resolution and can be downloaded if desired.]