James William Parrish was born on the 16th of November in 1944, the oldest son of Walter Braxton and Doris Evelyn Parrish of West Branch, Iowa. He is survived by his three brothers: Thomas Anton (Rita Faye Sayers), Robert Dean (Alvarita Claire MacBride) and David Joseph (Catherine Jane Shireman) Parrish.

In high school he enjoyed playing trombone in the band, and was in the Iowa All-state band. He also took part High School theater, with his favorite part being that of the bad guy in Arsenic and Old Lace. If any of his plays needed a cat, he would bring "Ali Baba" from home to fill the part.

Jim attended Iowa State University and earned a bachelor's degree in Industrial Education with a minor in architecture. He took part in student government.

He met his future wife, Sharon Lee Edenburn while at ISU. They married after graduation in 1967. Soon after, Jim started teaching Industrial Arts at the high school in Gilbert, Iowa. He drew up plans for several houses around Ames at about this time.

After being selected for the draft into the Army, Jim left teaching and he and Sharon packed up their apartment and moved her to live with her parents in South Dakota while he served. But the last physical exam before induction indicated that he did not have adequate vision in one eye, and so he was not sworn in to serve.

Jim and Sharon moved to Owatonna, Minnesota, where Jim worked his way up from janitor to manager of a plastics molding business. The oil shortage of 1973 put that company in bankruptcy, and so another move was made, this time to White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Jim started working as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch while Sharon starting working for a pharmaceutical company that later became part of 3M Company.

While in White Bear Lake, Jim joined the Masons.

After a few years, Jim started applying the his woodworking skills in his own business. He and Sharon also started raising Shetland Sheepdogs for show. They eventually became AKC judges, and authors/publishers of the American Shetland Sheepdog Associations breed book. They continued this effort until Sharon's death after a brief illness in 2019. By this time they had moved to Springfield, Missouri.

Jim was diagnosed with dementia some years before Sharon's death. With no family near, he moved to Ames, Iowa to be closer to those that could care for him.

Jim passed away on the 26th of February 2025 in Ames. After cremation, he will be buried in West Branch, near his parents' graves. Memorial and graveside services for Jim Parrish will take place at a later date.