Legendary Aviator Deanie Parrish Dies at 99

She was born Marie Odean Bishop on February 25, 1922, in Defuniak Springs, Florida. Known as Odean, she spent most of her childhood in Avon Park, Florida. In 1939, she graduated from Avon Park High School as valedictorian. 

After high school, she went to work as a bookkeeper and teller at a local bank. As the storm clouds of war were gathering over Europe, a primary training base for air cadets was set up in Avon. She met some of these cadets when they came to the bank to cash their paychecks, and after talking to some of them, she decided to  take flying lessons. She went on to become one of the first female pilots in Florida.

During her first solo flight in a Piper J-3 Cub—which is soloed from the back seat—the stick in the rear seat became disconnected. Realizing she could not control the airplane without the stick, she unfastened her seatbelt and jumped into the front seat and was able to regain control of the airplane before it crashed.

As the U.S. entered the war, she moved to Houston, Texas, where she found a job in a bank. She saved her money to buy a one-third share in an airplane so she could continue her flying lessons. 

She flew as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, patrolling the coastline looking for downed aircraft and enemy submarines. 

In 1943, she applied to and was accepted into the Women's Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) program. The WASP program, created by aviatrix Jaqueline Cochran, was designed to train women to fly military aircraft in non-combat situations, such as aircraft delivery, flight instruction, test flights, and target towing, so that men could be freed up for combat. In the 16 months the program was active, 25,000 women applied—1,879 were accepted.

After she completed training, she was sent to Greenville, Mississippi, to be an engineering test pilot. She flew the Martin B-26 Marauder, a twin-engine bomber known as 'the widow maker' because of its high accident rate, particularly during takeoffs. She flew the airplane without fear, a story she told often when she attended gatherings to honor the WASP after WWII.

During her time as a WASP, she met Bill Parrish, a B-24 pilot and the one who gave her the nickname “Deanie.”

Post-war, she became a dispatcher for the Air Force—the first civilian to hold the job. She married Bill in 1946 and became the private secretary for the director of operations for the 6th Air Force.

For the next 20 years, the couple moved from post to post and raised two daughters.

In 1975, the family was living in Texas when Bill separated from the military and entered the real estate business. With two daughters in college and husband embarking on a new career, she decided it was time to fulfill a dream of her own and entered college at the University of Houston. She graduated in 1979 summa cum laude.

In 1981, Bill retired from real estate and the couple moved to Waco to be closer to their grandchildren. 

After Bill's death in 1993, Deanie dedicated more time to activities to honor the WASP.

Her daughter Nancy encouraged her to share her stories about the WASP, and for the next 24 years, the pair made it their mission to record and preserve the stories of the women who flew in service for their country.

In 2003, they co-founded the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas —the location of the WASP training base.

Deanie became an inspirational speaker sharing stories about the WASP. She also served as secretary for the National WASP WWII organization.

In 2007, Deanie and Nancy created a traveling FlyGirls exhibit for the Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C. Deanie also began a campaign to lobby Congress to award the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal. 

In 2010, she was the featured speaker at the official ceremony in Washington, D.C., to award the WASP the Congressional Gold Medal.

Other honors bestowed on Deanie include:

In 2011, she was honored as an Eagle in the Gathering of Eagles program at Maxwell Air Force Base, and in 2015, Deanie and her daughter Nancy were inducted into the National Women in Aviation Pioneering Hall of Fame in 2015.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the "Wings Across America Project" at Baylor University: https://bbis.baylor.edu/give.