Alice Louise Parsons (Topping)

Alice Louise Parsons (Topping)

Houston, Texas

Alice Louise Parsons (Topping) passed away on December 1, 2022, at the age of 93 (no services were held).

Alice was born on her family farm near the small town of Winchester, Iowa, on October 22, 1929. She was the oldest of 7 children and worked hard to help her mom and dad keep the farm going.

In her late teens, Alice attended Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, where she completed her degree in Education. In 1950, she was hired for her first teaching position in Keota, Iowa. This was the beginning of a lifelong career in education. While teaching elementary school in Muscatine, Iowa, in the early '50s she met her true love, Neil Parsons.

The two lovebirds were married in March of 1955 (according to Alice, she wanted to wait until the lilacs were in bloom...but Neil had other plans). Soon after marrying, the young couple moved to Dallas, Texas, with only a card table and 4 chairs for furniture. In 1956, they welcomed their baby boy, Russell Kent Parsons, into the world and shortly after, in 1958, Julie Kay Parsons was born. They had their perfect family.

Alice and Neil eventually decided to settled down and raise their family in Houston, Texas. Alice attended The University of Houston, where she received her Texas teaching certification and continued to teach elementary school until her retirement. Alice loved and was much loved by her friends, was a master at bridge, a free thinker with a witty sense of humor, but most of all, she was the best mom a child could ask for.

Though distance separated them, Alice remained close with her family in Iowa -- many road trips, regular letters, and frequent phone calls ensured that her Iowa family was always close to her heart.

Her husband, Neil Parsons, and her son, Russell Parsons, precede Alice in death.

Her life is celebrated by her many friends in Houston, friends and family from Iowa, and especially by her daughter, Julie Parsons, daughter-in-law, Beth Whatley, her grandchildren, Ava Pope, Emma Pope, William Parsons and Brandon Parsons, and her great-grandchild, Onyx Terran.

Whenever Alice would see or hear about someone whose appearance was a little different, or whose views she may not have agreed with, she would calmly say, "It takes all kinds to make a world."