Dorothy Norwood

Dorothy Jean Parrish Norwood was born on July 15, 1936. She was the 9th of 11 children born to Will and Channie (Mhoon) Parrish, of which there were eight boys and three girls. She grew up in the Hyde Park section of Memphis, Tennessee. She accepted Christ at an early age and attended Summerfield Baptist Church. She graduated from Douglass High School in 1955 and briefly studied at Oakland College in Oakland, California. Dorothy absolutely loved to be surrounded by her family more than anything and helped nurture many of her nephews and nieces. In 1956, she moved to Hammond, Indiana to be near her family. She worked for Spiegel's Catalog and Outlet in Chicago, Illinois and joined Bethel AME Church in Hammond, Indiana. In 1961, she met James C Norwood and married him on April 25, 1963. To their union was born two children, April Lynn and Darrin Jay. Dorothy was very active in her church and community. She held the offices of Church Secretary, Church Treasurer, Choir member, Choir Secretary and Stewardess Board Treasurer. She was president and member of the Maywood PTA and would often babysit for other families in the neighborhood. She was always feeding children a...[more]

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helping those that could not help themselves. She worked as a nurse's assistant with the ER and Intensive Care Unit at St. Margaret's Hospital for years before leaving to spend more time with her children. Dorothy was an avid reader and loved going to the library. She loved sewing, quilting and embroidery, cooking, gardening and especially shopping. She loved solving the daily word games and crossword puzzles in the newspaper and watching old westerns with Jim. In 1998 Dorothy and Jim moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to be near their greatest joy, their grandchildren and children. She loved being around her grandchildren. She loved having them spend the night with her and taking them shopping at the Dollar Store. After settling into Indianapolis, they joined Robinson Community AME Church were she immediately became active with the Stewardess Board and managed the church nursery. She enjoyed watching all the infants and toddlers during service. On weekdays, you could find her caring for children or assisting the elderly as a private caretaker. She deeply loved her clients. In 2013, James and Dorothy joined New Zion Community Church and remained faithful until health concerns would not allow them to attend consistently. Dorothy passed away on Monday, February 17, 2020. She is preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, James C Norwood; parents, seven brothers, William, John, Curtis, Clyde, Eugene, Earl and Elbert; and one sister, Inez and children, James Norwood, Jr and Wesslynne Robinson. She will be missed deeply by her children; Darrin Jay (Tammy) Norwood; April Lynn (Floyd S) Barnes Jr, both of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Constance (Ronnie) Ladd of Edmond, Oklahoma; a devoted sister, Clote Morrow of Mesa, Arizona; a devoted brother, Rev. Maurice Parrish of Hammond, Indiana. Three sisters in laws, Dorothy Parrish of Houston, Texas; Jeanette Hooper and Johnetta Parrish Dallas, Texas; five granddaughters; 10 grandsons; seven great- grandchildren and lots of beautiful nieces and many favorite nephews.