James A. Parsons

James Alan Parsons, known to all as Jim, of Merrill and formerly of Wausau, passed away peacefully on March 13, 2026, with his two favorite girls by his side.

Jim lived a long life marked by service to his country and steady work. Drafted into the U.S. Army, he trained at Fort Knox and Fort Hood before traveling with his unit to Fort Stewart for deployment to Cuba in 1962, where he was prepared to be among the first to build roads. After his military service, he returned home, studied drafting at North Central Technical School, and applied those skills to build his first home. He married Rosalie Blarek on May 21, 1960. Together they raised two children, Scott Parsons and Vicki (George) Wilde. Jim was a proud grandfather to Elizabeth (Austin) Leverity and Alan Parsons, and a bonus grandfather to Allison (Chris) Lannigan, Marissa (Logan) Wilke, and Morgan Wilde.

He found quiet joy in puttering around the yard, riding his lawn tractor, and spending time in his garage. He especially cherished helping his son Scott bend pipe for his custom motorcycle business and sharing easy conversation with the men at the shop. Known as a quiet and gentle soul, Jim was a devoted father and grandfather, famous among his family for making the world’s best chocolate chip pancakes.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Grace and Elmer Parsons; his brothers, David and Gordon (Patricia) Parsons; his wife Rosalie in 2008; and his son Scott in 2018. The loss of Scott was the hardest experience of his life, and he was never quite the same afterward. Jim will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.