Friday, January 27, 2012
Family, friends say goodbye to Franklin County teen
Hundreds from Franklin County High honored the student who was "so happy" and seen as "true family."
Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
Friends of Zach Parsons gather outside Flora Funeral Service & Cremation Center in Rocky Mount before a memorial service for the 17-year-old. Parsons died Monday when the car he was riding in crashed.
Parents Tim Parsons (middle), Patty Parsons (middle right, standing) and Annette Byers (middle left, standing) grieve at the memorial service for their son.
Members of the Air Force JROTC from Franklin County High School and Patrick Henry High School gather to salute Zach Parsons in a maneuver called a 16-count manual of arms.
ROCKY MOUNT — Huddled together in a darkening parking lot, singing, crying, hugging and cheering, hundreds of Franklin County High School students gathered to say goodbye to one of their own.
Zachary Ian Parsons, 17, was remembered by friends, family and classmates in a standing room only memorial service Thursday evening.
"You could be having the worst day, and when you saw Parsons, he would crack a joke or run around and do something crazy to make you feel better," said William Dillon, 16.
Parsons was killed Monday in a five-car wreck that left four others, including three Franklin County High School students, in the hospital. Charges are pending in the wreck, state police said Thursday.
Parsons had a variety of interests, including animals, Air Force JROTC, the outdoors, writing music, following the band Insane Clown Posse, creating video games and fixing computers.
"Zach could do anything he put his mind to," said the Rev. Ronald Coleman, who led the service.
Coleman also urged those gathered to remember Parsons and pray for the students still in the hospital.
Their names have not been released.
Members of the Air Force JROTC from both Franklin County High School and Patrick Henry High School had gathered to salute Parsons in a nearly silent maneuver called a 16-count manual of arms, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. William Carter, the senior aerospace instructor at Franklin County High.
Parsons was a senior member of the JROTC and had talked about enlisting in the Air Force after graduation.
"One thing about Zach is that he never quit, and he did the right thing," Carter said.
The memorial service and the gathering outside showed "the two sides" of Parsons, said Lorrie Hicks, 15.
"That's just what made him, him," Hicks said.
Sobbing, she draped a "Hatchet Man" necklace popular with the Insane Clown Posse's followers, referred to as Juggalos and Juggalettes, over a memorial in the funeral home.
"It represents our family, and the love we all have for each other," Hicks said.
She also remembered the good times, including attending the Henry Mudfest, an annual event held near Philpott Lake in Franklin County.
The two ended up in a mud fight, slinging globs of mud at each other, Hicks said.
"He was always just so happy, no matter what," she said.
Before the service, accompanied with music from a cellphone, many sang the words to "Juggalo Family."
"I consider Zach true family," said Paul Swartz, 17, who said he had known Parsons since the two were small children. "He had a lot of love for everybody."
Everything Parsons did came from the heart, including his music, Swartz said. The two often played music together.
"When he used to sing, it was from the heart and soul," Swartz said. "It's such a hard thing to lose him."
State police released little additional information about the crash investigation Thursday, although First Sgt. M.L. Bailey confirmed that the first vehicle the northbound Mercury in which Parsons was a passenger struck, a Scion, was headed south when the two vehicles collided.
Bailey said charges in the crash were pending but declined to say what those were. He also declined to say how fast the vehicles involved were traveling, although he has named speed as a factor in the wreck.
Staff writer Neil Harvey contributed to this report.
