Obituaries : * Clarance H. Parlour; Rector Emeritus

The Rev. Clarance Henry Parlour, who served 27 years as rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glendale, has died at an Alhambra convalescent home. He was 98.

A longtime Glendale resident, Parlour died Thursday of complications due to his advanced age, said his daughter, Virginia Young of Glendale.

Born in Manchester, England, Parlour came to the United States as a child when his family settled in Pittsburgh, Pa. After serving in the Army during World War I, Parlour attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the mid-1920s.

He finished theological training at the Philadelphia Divinity School, then served briefly at St. James Church in Dillon, Mont., where he met his future wife, Virginia Stellar. (She died in 1991; they had been married 67 years.)

In 1927, the Parlours came to the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese where Clarance Parlour served as curate for two years at St. John’s Church in downtown Los Angeles. After that assignment, he served a six-year tenure as rector of St. Cross Church in Hermosa Beach, beginning in 1929.

From 1935 to 1962, Parlour served as rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glendale. He retired as rector emeritus. For the next eight years, he was dean of the diocese’s Los Angeles convocation.

In 1990, the city of Glendale honored Parlour and nearly 100 other residents as “seniors of the century” for their longevity.

“The secret of long living is, don’t die,” Parlour told The Times then. “Simple as that.”

In addition to his daughter, Virginia, Parlour is survived by two sons, Dr. Richard Parlour of Yuba City, Calif., and David Parlour of San Jose, Costa Rica; daughter Margaret Martin of Glendale; 18 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday at St. Mark’s, 1020 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Bishops Chester Talton and Oliver Garver will preside. Scovern Mortuary in Glendale is handling arrangements.

Donations may be made in Parlour’s name to the Parlour Preaching Mission Endowment Fund, in care of St. Mark’s.