Mary Lee Parrish was born March 2, 1921 to parents Dewey and Vigil Parrish. She had at least two siblings, Janie Parrish and Roland Parrish. She graduated from Timpson High School in 1938 and attended at least two years of college in Mary-Hardin Baylor in Belton, Texas. She interred at Ramah Cemetery in Tenaha. It appears her siblings and other kin were laid to rest in Ramah Cemetery also.