ALLIE MAE PARRISH
Written by Marcia Diane Foster
This article is about Mrs. Allie Mae Parrish.  She was born on September 23, 1955, (Libra) in Cleveland, Ohio.  Being an only child, she was very close to her mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather.  She graduated from high school and started college majoring in Computer Science.  During her tenure at college, she started having problems with her eyes and was diagnosed with Kerakoconus.  This is a rare eye disease not common in African Americans but more predominant in Europeans.  The eye disease caused her to lose her sight for eight (8) years.
  Allie, is a very intelligent, determined, and spiritually motivated woman.  She survived her misfortune of blindness because she is positive, strong willed, and believing.  She continued college.  It took her an additional two years to get her degree in computer programming.
During the time she was blind, she managed to change herself to deal with her misfortune at the time.  I asked her how did she function for those eight (8) years.  She responded by saying, "I was an organized nut". Everything had to be in order and in its proper place.
Allie had a cornea transplant, which was successful, and she was able to see again.  I asked her how she felt when she received her sight back.  She responded, "Everything was colorful and beautiful".  She was so happy and grateful that she had her sight back.  Once she saw a crow on the roof, everyone else freak-ed, but to her the blackness of the crow was a beautiful sight to see.
When Allie finished school, her and her mother came to Maryland for a conference and she met the one and only "Theodore (Ted) H. Parrish".  In love with the charming Mr. Ted, she married him and moved to this area and started a life with him.

Allie Mae Parrish
Allie and I graduated from SEZ, Class 27, on June 11, 2000.  She was the Treasurer of the class. We also took Priscilla Wiley's class together to perfect our turns.  Allie also took Ballroom dance lessons.  She worked for Brad at SEZ for a few years.  She is trying to keep her strength up so that she can come back out and dance.
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about six (6) years ago.  She is fighting this battle with all of her strength.  She says, "that the prescription for her healing is grace to persevere in Jesus Christ.  With God's grace we shall all persevere to victory because "power" is made perfect in "weakness"."  Allie is in school taking biblical courses.  Maybe a teacher one day because she certainly has her share of testimonies.
Allie is a beautiful, fun loving, warm, and extremely intelligent woman.  We have been very close friends for over nine (9) years and I admire her very much.  I love her and pray for the best for her and her husband.  Please send a pray up for Allie and may God richly bless her.  We love you Allie.  She can be reached at Alliemais@aol.com.