Thomas Scott Parry - The Best Man One Could Know

Thomas Scott Parry, our devoted husband, father, papa, son, brother and friend, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 8, 2008 surrounded by his loving family.
Scott was born in Price, Utah on January 24, 1952 to Thomas L. Parry and Dian Stevens Hechtle. He was a great older brother to his three younger siblings Kim, Valerie and Cheryl. Scott was raised in Orem, Utah where he developed lifelong friendships, and a love for sports and the outdoors.

Baseball was a passion he excelled at and was given a scholarship to Ricks College, in Rexburg, Idaho. It was there that he met his eternal companion and love of his life, Kris. They were sealed for time and all eternity after Scott faithfully served an LDS mission to Japan. Their 35 years of marriage was filled with constant love, support and commitment to each other. He was an amazing father to two wonderful children who he taught how to treat others with kindness and unconditional love.

Scott was a faithful member of the LDS church and loved people and could make friends anywhere he went. Many fond memories were made snowmobiling and taking trips to Lake Powell with “the group”. He also enjoyed golfing with his son and buddies. Through his example, he taught that life is not about what you own or where you work, but what you do for others and how you treat them.

The gift of life was given to Scott in 2001 when his son-in-law, Philip Cochrane, donated his kidney. This unselfish act allowed Scott to see the birth of his three granddaughters, who were the light of their papa’s life. He was also able to witness his son marry his wife Krista.

A heart felt thanks for the tender care given to Scott by the doctors, nurses, and staff during his last week of life at Intermountain Medical Center. The family was also blessed by the Roadway and Life Flight families who lovingly supported them through this difficult time.

Scott is survived by his loving family. Wife Kris; Children Heather (Philip) Cochrane and Timothy (Krista) Parry; Gandchildren Chloee, Brynlee and Hadlee Cochrane; Parents, Thomas L.(Nancy) Parry , Dian (Ralph) Hechtle; Siblings, Kim (Cindy) Parry, Valerie (Brad) Hansen, Cheryl Conlon, Michael (Katie) Parry, Brent Jolley, Steve, Dieter and Michael Hechtle; and all of his many nieces and nephews.

A viewing will be held on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 from 6-9 p.m. at the Larkin Sunset Gardens located at 1950 East 10600 South. Funeral Services will be held Thursday, November 13, 2008 at noon at the Country Park Stake Center located at 114000 South 2447 West. A viewing will precede services from 10:30-11:45 am. Internment will follow at Mountain View Memorial Estates. In lieu of flowers, please send your love through donations to the American Diabetes Association.

Our Hero Returns Home

Below is the post that Tim posted last night on his dad's blog. What a great example he was to us of enduring through the challenges that life gives you and making the best out of it. We love you Dad and will miss you but we know you are in Heaven taking care of our precious baby until it comes to us in May. We love you all. Thank you for your many thoughts and prayers this week.

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Today, on November 8, 2008 at 3:50 P.M., our Heavenly Father took one of the most precious gifts one could get on Earth, our Dad. We are so grateful and feel so blessed that the Lord saw fit to give him to us. Dad was such a wonderful genuine person, and his heart was centered around his family. He taught us so many things that will bless us for the future. The biggest gift that he taught me, his son, was how to endure to the end. He did, and he did it with a smile on his face, with love in his heart for others and he did it when he thought he couldn't do it. He has endured so much and is a testament to how I need to act as a man and a leader. He taught me that life is not about what you own or where you work, but what you do for others and how you treat them.

This week showed us how much Dad was loved. People came and never left his side, they couldn't get enough. We saw people that we hadn't seen in years; they knew, as we did, what kind of man was being called home. Somebody said to me today, "heaven doesn't know what they are getting." My response was "they do know what they are getting or else he wouldn't be leaving so early."

Dad, in his last few hours, was writing notes to us saying things like "how about a diet coke", "please donate my organs", "and that he was not afraid because he knew we " will be together forever." I believe yesterday was his gift to us - he was awake enough that he could interact with us and crack some jokes. He told us all that he loved us and that he was proud of us. That is all we needed, we thank God for that time with him.

We thank you all for your thoughts and prayers this last week...we now know that we still need those prayers as a family to maintain our strength. When I came to Mom's tonight Brynlee (one of Heather & Phil's twin girls) asked me if I was sad that Papa was gone. I responded "of course I was." Her response was "but at least we now have a Guardian Angel!"

God Bless you Dad and the life that you lived. You truly were a man that blessed the lives of so many around you. We love you and will miss you but we know this is just temporary. Thank you for being "THE BEST MAN ONE COULD KNOW."

We will continue to post information here about upcoming services. Thank you and God Bless.

In Gratitude

I feel like I need to write a post about gratitude and the lessons I've learned this last week. It has definitely been one of the hardest weeks I have ever had, one filled with deep emotion, deep humility and a whole lot of gratitude. It was exactly one week ago today that we sat down together as a family with several doctors who told us that our father/f-i-l was not going to live. He was/is very sick and that his heart would never recover from the massive heart attack that he had. I can't even tell you what it feels like to know that someone you love is going to die without you being able to tell them you love them. We were pretty hopeless that we would ever be able to talk to Scott again but we knew that our Heavenly Father had a grand plan for him. This is where my gratitude comes in. I do not know what we would have done if we did not believe what our faith teaches us: You will see the ones you love again and that life on the other side is a whole lot better than life here on this earth. That brought me so much peace to know that as painful as it is for us left behind it is a joyous occasion for those who leave.

I am so grateful for this knowledge. I am grateful for wonderful family and friends who swing by the hospital just to see how we are doing. I am grateful for a husband who is able to not only bless me, but bless all of those around him. He has been the leader of this family, when we were all leaning on him. He talked calmly to the 100+ people who would show up at the hospital, and he would cry with them and laugh with them. I am grateful that he was able to give his mom a blessing of peace and she felt it. I am grateful that he was able to give his father a blessing, surrounded by 30 angels (family, friends assisting in blessing), that his dad would know how much we loved him and that it was ok to lay down his armour and stop fighting. I am grateful that he would sit out in the waiting room for 12+ hours a day (since last Thursday) to greet anyone who would show up. I am grateful that his heart is so tender that he can not bear to see his dad in pain. I am grateful for his love for me.

I am grateful that I have wonderful family and friends. What I've learned this last week is that there is nothing better than serving those around us. There is nothing like sending a small text to say I am thinking of you or crying with me on the phone. I know that life gets busy and I tend to be one who can't handle all the things going on. But I want to thank each and every one of my family and friends for being in my life. I love you.

This morning Scott woke up when we walked in and immediately reached for my belly to feel his new grandbaby growing! He got a big smile on his face. I think he met him/her while in his deep sleep and they told him that they needed their Papa to be here on earth in May when it arrives. We hope that can happen but if not we know he will watch over him/her in heaven. We are praying that doesn't happen because we know he will be teaching our little tyke to give us hell when they arrive, just like his little timmie did to him.

Below is a family photo that we had taken on Saturday, October 25, five days before this all began. We are so grateful that we had these photos taken, what a cherished thing.

If you would like to stay updated on Scott's journey you can follow it here.

Our beloved Father

We have had a very difficult couple of days as our wonderful father (Scott) suffered a massive heart attack on Thursday. We have been holed up at the hospital ever since. Please check out our blog we set up for him to stay updated. And please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

http://ourheroscott.blogspot.com/