William N. Parrott Jr., a retired Baltimore County educator who earlier had been a city public school teacher and administrator, died Saturday of cancer at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. He was 81.
William Nathaniel Parrott Jr., the son of a city elementary school principal and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in Ashburton.
He was a 1946 graduate of Douglass High School and had served at 7th Army headquarters in Germany.
Mr. Parrott earned a bachelor's degree in 1952 from what was then Coppin State Teachers College. He later earned a master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a certificate in advanced study from the Johns Hopkins University.
He began his teaching career in city public schools in 1952 and later was a demonstration teacher and elementary school principal of School No. 139 and Bolton Hill Elementary School before being assigned to the old school board headquarters on 25th Street.
In 1972, Mr. Parrott joined Baltimore County public schools where he was administrator of special and federal programs.
"We recruited Bill from the city system to handle our federal programs. At the time, we were still relatively new at that and he succeeded in getting many grants for us," said former Superintendent Robert Y. Dubel, who headed the Baltimore County public school system for 16 years before retiring in 1992.
"I was very fond of Bill. He was a great addition to our staff. He was both congenial and friendly and made friends very quickly," Dr. Dubel recalled. "He had lots of respect and admiration. He was a quiet man who got the job done."
Dr. Mary Ellen Saterlie, who was associate superintendent for instruction in Baltimore County public schools during the 1970s and 1980s, was both a friend and colleague.
"Federal programs were his major area," Dr. Saterlie recalled.
"Bill was just an outstanding and pleasant person who worked well with various personalities. The people I worked with were always very impressed by him. He was a good person to be associated with," she said.
Mr. Parrott retired in 1984.
Mr. Parrott, who had lived in Chester since 1981, assumed a number of leadership roles with organizations, including the Association of School Business Officials, various teacher's associations, the Maryland Commission on Aging, the Queen Anne's County Library Board, the Adult Day Care Foundation and the Kent Island Civic Confederation.
He also had been actively involved with the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, Maryland Cooperative Extension and the American Association of Retired Persons.
While living in Rockdale, Mr. Parrott was a longtime active member of St. James Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square in West Baltimore.
After moving to the Eastern Shore, he became a communicant of Christ Episcopal Church on Kent Island, where he served on various committees, had been senior warden and played the organ at the early Sunday service.
Mr. Parrott's interests included the theater, photography, music, reading and travel. He also maintained an interest in songwriting.
In 1948, he collaborated with Carl Murphy, publisher of The Afro-American, who wrote the lyrics to his music for "The Angel's Song," a Christmas carol.
Services are at noon Thursday at Christ Episcopal Church, 830 Romancoke Road, Stevensville.
Surviving are his wife of 30 years, the former Camilla Jackson, a retired city public school principal; a son, Wayne Parrott of Baltimore; a daughter, Angela Thomas of Baltimore; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. An earlier marriage to Mildred P. Burke ended in divorce.