Shirley Ann Parcell, known for her love of children and devotion to her church, died Aug. 9 at the Waterford at Levis Commons in Perrysburg. She was 94.

She died after being in declining health, which son Brion said he suspects was because of her age.

Mr. Parcell remembers his mother as an incredibly sweet and soft-spoken woman, who could be very self-deprecating when it came to her musical ability, which is something he doesn’t agree with, he said.

“She had a pretty singing voice in church, and she was on pitch but she was almost self-deprecating as far as telling you she had no talent,” he said. “She would say, ‘I have no talent. I have no musical or artistic talent whatsoever,’ but she did.”

“She was wonderful,” son Bruce Parcell said. “She was all about her family and her faith.”

Mrs. Parcell was born on Sept. 16, 1928, to Dunham and Esther Ruhl in Toledo, where she graduated from DeVilbiss High School, which Brion Parcell estimates was sometime in the 1940s.

While she was in high school, she met her soon-to-be husband, Mac, at a church camp and later married at Hampton Park Christian Church in West Toledo in 1949, which would become a faith home for the pair for 60 years, Brion Parcell said.

After she graduated, Mrs. Parcell ran a daycare out of their home on Rushland Avenue in West Toledo for more than 20 years, which he attributes to helping her single mother watch her younger brother while she was at work, he said.

“She was a homemaker, and my dad was a chemical engineer and went to work every day,” Mr. Parcell said. “She decided that she was the best at taking care of babies and children so she started a daycare and used that money to send us to college and help send off the grandkids to college.”

Mrs. Parcell was heavily involved with Hampton Park Christian Church, which was two blocks away from their home, he said.

She taught Sunday school with her husband for 50 years. She also was a part of several organizations and groups within the church such as the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which provided temporary housing for families in need, and the Swaddlers Ministry she started at the church, which provides clothing for children, among other groups, Mr. Parcell said.

“She was involved in anything that had to do with helping other people,” Bruce Parcell said. “That was always her focus, specifically at Hampton Park.”

Mr. Parcell said he remembers his mother often using the kitchen at the church to bake for her family as well as other members of the church.

One of his favorite things for her to bake was a German chocolate cake for his birthday, which were “perfect” because of a cake design class she took, he said.

“She was the best baker you’ve ever seen in your life,” he said. “She could bake anything, as long as it had a scientific recipe. She baked the best cookies, the best cakes, the best pies. ... What was funny was, whenever she was going to do a lot of baking, she would take over, and we only lived like a block from the church.” 

“She would take over the church’s kitchen because it had like six ovens and she’d do all of her baking down there and that was hilarious. It was funny. We would go down there and help her. She would make peanut brittle, homemade taffy, everything,” he added.

Mrs. Parcell was also an avid gardener and quilter, leaving many of her family members with at least one quilt, Brion Parcell said.

She is survived by her sons, Bruce, Brion, and Brady Parcell; daughter, Judy Derlatka ; nine grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at Toledo Memorial Park Chapel of Peace at 6382 Monroe St. in Sylvania at 10 a.m. Sept. 16, followed at noon by a celebration of life event at Aldersgate United Methodist Church at 4030 Douglas Rd. in Toledo.

Tributes in Mrs. Parcell's memory are asked to be made to the Swaddlers Ministry, Hampton Park Christian Church or to Heifer International.

First Published September 5, 2023, 4:00 a.m.