Myrna M. Parry, formerly of Riley, Kansas, died on Monday, October 12, 2026, in Overland Park, Kansas, at the age of 91.

Myrna Mae Dodds was born on July 30, 1935, in Macksville, Kansas, to Clarence M. Dodds and Elma “Patty” Patterson. The family moved frequently during her early years across different parts of Kansas and Nebraska. In 1943, she moved with her parents and siblings to Riley, Kansas, at the age of eight, where she lived for the next seventy-three years. Her father, a school principal and shop teacher in Riley, tragically passed away from cancer when Myrna was only 10 years old. Her mother, an elementary school teacher, raised Myrna and her four siblings on her own. Myrna experienced a life of love, laughter, and loss with her four siblings: Patricia, DeLoss, Clare, and Sondra. She grew up among an extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived in and around Emporia and Anthony, Kansas. Myrna graduated from Riley County High School in 1953, and she took classes at Emporia State University and Brown Mackie School of Business in Salina, Kansas, before she married.

On November 25, 1956, Myrna Mae Dodds and Phillip Morgan Parry began their 60-year marriage. They were married in the Riley Presbyterian Church—the same sanctuary where they mourned the loss of parents, baptized their children, celebrated the wedding of their son and daughter-in-law, and were memorialized by family and friends for their meaningful lives. Their son Brad was born in 1957 and their daughter Shawn in 1960. Early in her marriage, Myrna worked at the administrative offices of Riley County High School. Phil and Myrna became the owner-operators of Phil’s Skelly in the late 1960s, where she completed the bookwork for the station every day until they sold their business in 2004. She also worked later in life in the Riley State Bank before retiring. Myrna and Phil loved the life they shared together in Riley before moving to Topeka, Kansas, in June 2016 to be near Brad and his wife Susan Lodge Parry. Phil sadly passed away only eight months later on March 18, 2017; Myrna mourned his loss until the end of her own life nine years later.

Myrna leaves behind loving family members who lift her up in memory during this time of sadness. She is survived by her younger siblings—DeLoss Dodds (Texas), Clare Dodds (Illinois), and Sondra (Dodds) Polyzogopoulos (Illinois). She is also survived by her two children and their spouses (Brad and Susan Parry of San Antonio, Texas, and Shawn and Trevor Parry-Giles of Takoma Park, Maryland). Myrna also leaves behind four loving grandchildren (Clare [Parry] Lozano and her husband George, Allison [Parry] Moreno and her husband Gabriel, Sam Parry-Giles, and Eli Parry-Giles along with five great-grandchildren (Maya Lozano, Brynn Lozano, Sebastian Moreno, Amelia Moreno, and Lorenzo Moreno), along with many nieces and nephews.

Myrna was preceded in death not only by her father and mother but also her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Edward and Letha (Myers) Parry, her older sister, Patricia (Dodds) Jordan, as well as John D. Jordan (brother-in-law), Mary Ann (Chamberlain) Dodds (sister-in-law), Bernice (Parry) Leidig (sister-in-law), Warren Leidig (brother-in-law), and nephews, Scott Jordan and Jon Jordan.

Across her seventy-three years in Riley, Myrna lived a life of support for her family and in service to her community. She embodied the expectations of motherhood established by the country’s founding generations. Mothers were not only expected to instill moral teachings and religious devotion in their own children, but to also share such faithfulness across their communities. Myrna fulfilled the founders’ ideals of motherhood by teaching Sunday school, summer Bible school, and after-school activities for children at the Riley Presbyterian Church. She worked with other women of the church to create a church pantry and prepare care packages for families in need during the holidays. The women of the church—Betty, Diane, Janie, Kathleen, Marj, Margie, Shirley, Loreen, and many others—also provided dozens of lunches for families who celebrated the lives of loved ones in the church. She also sang in the choir, served as a church elder, planned Christmas programs, and read Scripture as a lay leader. She volunteered as a Brownie leader and read books to children at the Riley City Library. And for fun, Myrna spent many Tuesdays playing Bridge with friends and preparing for the women’s Embroidery Club gatherings.

More than anything, Myrna will be remembered by her children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren, nieces, and nephews for filling their lives with love and joy. She savored the time she spent with the kids in her family by throwing rocks with them at the bridge, painting with watercolors, doing scavenger hunts, making Buckaroo cookies and Dodds chocolate sheet cake, reading children’s books, playing cards and games, preparing Easter egg hunts, making busy bags for road trips, going on hikes, attending Grandparents’ Day, and going to Sunday school and church. Myrna’s ability to make Christmas magical made all in her family eager to come home to Riley for the holidays. They cheered as they caught the first glimpses of the bright lights of the Riley sign en route to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Myrna will be long remembered as a kind and generous person who made people, especially her family members, feel treasured.

Myrna Parry’s memorial services will be held at the Riley Presbyterian Church on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., with a reception to follow. A family ceremony at the Bala Cemetery in Bala, Kansas, will follow. 

In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be made to the Riley City Library, 115 S Broadway St., Riley, KS 66531, and left in care of the Anderes-Pfeifley Funeral Home.