Joseph "Jay" Parsley

Joseph “Jay” Edward Parsley, 55, passed away peacefully on July 17 ^th 2018, with his family by his side.

Jay was born to Kathryn and the late Danny Parsley in Dallas, Texas on January 22, 1963. Jay graduated from Newman-Smith High School, and then earned a BS in Geology at Texas Tech University in 1985. Jay and Karen Waddle married on August 24, 1985 right after he received his United States Air Force commission as a Second Lieutenant. Jay was part of the initial deployment with the B-52s out of Offutt AFB days before Operation Desert Storm. He worked with the Squadron as an Intelligence Officer. After separating from the Air Force, he went on to join the Missouri Air National Guard in St Joseph, MO supporting C-130s, which he affectionately referred to as the Four Fans of Freedom. With the ANG, Jay was deployed two times for an assignment in Bosnia and the Second Gulf War . Along with the MANG, Jay found careers with SAIC, Schlumberger, Open Spirit and, finally, Chevron. Jay was fortunate to take his love of geology and merge it with technology and data management as a Geoscientist. Along the way he earned his MS in Geography at the University of Nebraska. He was blessed to meet and work with many wonderful people who he has kept up with throughout the years.

He had a lifelong love of learning and travel. Between his adventures with Karen, he loved spending his time on photography, drones, and volunteering with the Boy Scouts.

The family would like to thank the staff at MD Anderson for all their compassion during his fight. Special thanks is extended to Dr. Sunil Patel and the staff of the Katy campus.

Jay is survived by his wife Karen, children Kristen, Jennifer, and Hayden, granddaughter Piper, mother Kathryn, mother-in-law Carolyn, father-in-law Bob, sister Dannette, brother-in-laws David, Doug, and Mike, sister-in-law Kelley, nephews Danny, Larry, and Christopher, nieces Christy, Audrey, Janie, and his beloved dog Gracie. Jay was blessed with a large loving family, cousins, aunts, and uncles, and in-laws who he loved tremendously.

A graveside service will be held at Trees Cemetery (1666 S. Santa Fe Trail Duncanville, TX 75137) on Saturday, July 21, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. A memorial service will be held at Schmidt Funeral Home, Grand Parkway on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family would request donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, MD Anderson Pancreatic Research Group, or the Boy Scouts of America.

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network National Office
1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Pancreatic Research Group
MD Anderson Cancer Center P.O. Box 4486
Houston, Texas 77210-4486

Sam Houston Area Council

2225 N Loop W

Houston, TX 77008