Richmond native John Linwood “Jack” Parrish Jr. was an awkward, skinny high school student who stood almost 6 feet, 5 inches when he joined the school drama club. “He found that popular girls suddenly wanted to date him. His drama teacher expanded that interest,“ and theater blossomed into an acting and directing career, said his wife, Kathy Ann Parrish.

When Jack Parrish retired in 1995, he didn’t walk away from his lifetime love of helping people. He simply switched gears, trading one all-consuming passion for another. After a career in the pharmacy business, he found a new way to help people: He clothed and fed them. Mr. Parrish, 75, of Chester died Saturday after a lengthy illness. A funeral will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Chesterfield Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home & Cremation Service. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park in Chester.