Charles Wesley Parish

Charles Wesley Parish
Alma mater Texas Military Institute and Trinity University
Occupation Photographer and politician
Employer Terrell Hills, Texas
Known for Portrait photography
Title Council Person for Terrell Hills City Council
Term 13th term
Religion Episcopalian
Spouse(s) Betty Parish
Website Parish Photography

Charles Wesley Parish is a city council person for the city of Terrell Hills, Texas and a professional photographer in the San Antonio area.

Early life

Parish graduated from the Texas Military Institute out of high school, after which he graduated from Trinity University. He was commissioned in the Corp of Engineers in the U.S. Army. He was a paratrooper and an aviator. He worked for his family's business, before becoming a professional photographer.[1][2]

Photography career

Parish's first photography sale was a photograph of President John F. Kennedy taken the day before he died, which gained a popular following and over 150 orders from students at Draughon's Business College. Soon after this he began to make his income solely through photography.[3]

The San Antonio Business Journal has called Parish the "dean of San Antonio portrait and wedding photographers", and the San Antonio Express-News has called him a "photography icon".[1][4] He was the owner-operator of Parish Photography between 1964 until his retirement in 2012, continuing on as a photographer with the company after his retirement and sale of the business to his colleague Jenna-Beth Lyde. He started the photography shop with his late-uncle George Parish. Parish worked in tandem with the next-door store Wedding Planners, owned by his wife, and also opened a second photography studio called Alamo Photo Labs.[4] The News called Parish Photography "one of San Antonio's most successful businesses of its kind".[1] He is a past president and founder of the Professional Photographers of San Antonio.[5]

Political career

Charles Parish in military uniform

Parish has been a city council person in Terrell Hills, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio, since 1988. He has stated that he will continue on as councillor until at least 2016, in order to see the completion of the new City Hall.[6][7]

Personal life

Between 1999 and 2001, Parish traveled to all 254 counties in the state of Texas with his granddaughter, a 44 travel day journey of over 17,000 miles with 14,000 being by car and 3,000 being by air. Along the way Parish arranged for his granddaughter to meet more than half of the county judges in the state, as well as then Governor Rick Perry. Following their trip, Parish also endeavored to introduce his granddaughter to other states' governors, and was able to in five other states, with governors including Mike Huckabee, Bill Richardson and George Pataki.[6] He is also the author of the blog A Bride Idea: Anecdotes of an Old, Grouchy Wedding Photographer.[1] Parish is also a motorcyclist, having owned several Harley-Davidsons.[8] In the 1970s he became involved in the Episcopalian lay movement in Texas, and is married to Betty Parish with whom he has had two children.[2] Parish's brother Edwin is a retired Secret Service officer who, during his career, protected figures including President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. His grandfather was the founder of San Antonio post-secondary school Draughon's Business College.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Carole Miller (May 1, 2012). "Old meets new at Parish Studios in Alamo Heights". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Church Sponsors Lay Movement". The Victoria Advocate. October 29, 1974. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Gilbert Garcia (November 15, 2013). "2 brothers' careers affected by JFK's slaying". San Antonio Express. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Rosalind Soliz (September 14, 2013). "Parish Photography views future through new lens". San Antonio Business Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Professional Photographers of San Antonio Past Presidents". Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Becky Frost (January 23, 2012). "Where Are They Now?". Texas County Progress. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  7. ↑ "City Council". City of Terrell Hills. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ Becky Whetstone Schmidt (April 23, 1996). "Framed portrait corrected". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 24, 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.