SUSAN MIXON PARRIS
April 5, 1943-June 16, 2018
Susan Mixon Parris, 75, died June 16, 2018.
She was born Susan Pell Mixon April 5, 1943, in Henderson, N.C., the daughter of Benjamin Harrell Mixon and Ruth Forsberg Mixon.
The family was active in First Methodist Church.
After graduating from Henderson High School in 1962, she received an Associate of Arts degree from Louisburg College in 1964, a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Campbell College in 1966 and a Master of Arts degree in library science from Appalachian State University in 1972.
In Goldsboro, she worked as a librarian at Wayne Community College for 30-plus years.
While there, she met and married Eric H. Parris April 29, 1979. They worked together on HOTLINE, where she once received the Volunteer of the Year Award, and then was honored later in 2002 for 30 years of service.
Eric encouraged her to further her work in computerized library science, and she received her second Master of Library Science degree from North Carolina Central University in 1988.
She and Eric enjoyed rock collecting for making jewelry, fellowship with Eric’s watchmakers’ group and raising Penny and her puppies.
Susan was always very much involved in volunteer activities, including the American Red Cross and Wayne Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.
As a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Goldsboro, she participated in the choir and the women’s prayer group, served as a Sunday school teacher for 20 years and as a Stephen minister and was a certified lay speaker for the Goldsboro District.
When she moved to Raleigh, one of her first considerations was to find a church close by, so it would be an easy drive for her. She discovered North Raleigh United Methodist Church, where she was welcomed into the Fellowship Sunday school class, and cared for by them and the Carewriters even after she was unable to attend.
Serving others was the goal of Susan’s life, whether she was helping a student at the community college, working for a volunteer organization or assisting friends at the retirement centers where she lived in Goldsboro and Raleigh. She didn’t forget that others were serving her, and said, while living at Brookdale North Raleigh, “I know, when I hear a knock at my door, one of my angels will be there.”
Susan was born with Turner Syndrome, a condition that affected her heart as well as her height. She never let that stop her. She had to fight every day for acceptance and prove once again, “it’s what you do with what you’ve got, that counts.”
For many years, she traveled to the annual conferences of the Little People of America and the National Turner Syndrome Society, and her doctors commented that she was the oldest Turner Syndrome patient they had seen.
Susan’s family was dear to her.
Those people are her sister, Charlotte Corbridge; her brother, Ben Mixon and his wife, Polly; and nieces and nephews, Loren Corbridge and her husband, Zak Barse, Stuart Corbridge and his wife, Carol, Gus Mixon and his wife, Stacie, Mary Ruth Franklin and her husband, John, Mandy Duguid and her husband, Jim, and Tammy Revels.
She loved her great-nieces and nephews, Zach, Alyssa, Sarah, Micaela, Gavin, Gabe and Connor, and the most recent additions, Avery, Kyrie and Cole.
A service of remembrance will be held Saturday, June 23, at 6:30 at Brookdale North Raleigh, 1200 Carlos Drive in Raleigh, N.C.
Memorials may be sent in Susan’s name to St. Luke United Methodist Church, 1608 E. Pine St., Goldsboro, N.C., 27530.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on June 21, 2018 8:05 AM