Zelmo Parlan Ishee

Zelmo Parlan Ishee was born at his family’s home in Louin, Mississippi on September 9, 1937. He passed away in the early morning of August 28, 2020.

He was the youngest son of Herbert Andrew and Charity Kathlyn Ishee. His father was a barber, and a part-time preacher. As a boy, Zel would sell peanuts and shine shoes outside his father’s barber shop. While in high school, Zel was involved in an auto accident that resulted in critical injuries and it was only at the insistence of his sister-in-law (a nurse) that his life was saved.

Beginning around the 9th grade, Zel played football on the varsity football team. He joined the high school basketball team, and they went on to win the Jasper County, Mississippi championship three out of four years of his high school career. Zel was selected County All-Star in both his Junior and Senior years. He also spent time as a lifeguard and Boy Scout leader.

In addition to athletics, Zel possessed a sharp mind. During his work in a concrete yard, he amazed customers with his ability to total their orders in his head and went on to become the valedictorian of his senior class in 1955.

On September 12, 1955, Zel joined the Air Force and was assigned to the Strategic Air Command where he served for four years. He received his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and was initially stationed in Tucson, Arizona from December 1955 to October 1956. He was then sent by Navy ship, the A.E. Anderson, to Japan where he was assigned to Johnson Air Base, outside Tokyo and served there as a Personnel Specialist. When he returned to the states, he was assigned to Robins Air Force base in Georgia. Upon his honorable discharge from service in the Air Force on September 11, 1959, Zel went on to serve in the Mississippi National Guard Reserves for one year.

After returning from the service, he went to work in a warehouse as a shipping clerk for Northern Electric Company, a manufacturer of small appliances. His strong attention to detail resulted in a move to the accounting department. In accounting, he developed a relationship with a demanding customer and this led to a career in sales. In 1963, he married Mary Christine (Chris) Morgan and their first child, John, was born there in Mississippi.

Zel was a good salesman who focused on his customers and was subsequently promoted to a role in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They spent a short time there before relocating to Charlotte, North Carolina, where their daughter Kathlyn and son Ray were born.

The family then relocated to Atlanta, Georgia for a couple of years before settling in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Zel commuted daily to Chicago, and eventually became the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. While living in Arlington Heights, the family attended the First Baptist Church of Palatine, where Zel served as a Sunday School teacher and Deacon and the family made some life-long friendships.

In 1983, he left his job at Northern and the family relocated to Tulsa where he started his own business as a manufacturer’s sales representative. He did that for many years before moving on to roles at Ultimate Electronics and as a driver with Avis before his retirement.

Zel enjoyed watching sports, running, and bicycling. He participated in numerous 5K races and trained for the Tulsa Run six times, completing it on four occasions. He and Chris enjoyed travel and visited all fifty states as well as numerous countries.

There was almost always a dog or two in the house, and Zel loved puns and silly jokes. In his later years, he took pleasure in posting these and license plates on social media as well as watching birds and squirrels in the yard, and deer at Mohawk Park. Most especially, Zel enjoyed going on long drives and watching movies with his wife, and entertaining his children and grandchildren.

Zel is best remembered by his family for his love of his wife, sharp mind, attention to detail, and enjoyment of simple pleasures. He was a natural story teller and someone who enjoyed making others laugh.

A memorial service with military honors is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 2nd at Schaudt Funeral Services, located at 5757 S. Memorial Drive in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Memorial contributions can be made to Saint Francis Hospice, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children or the Salvation Army.

Arrangements are entrusted to Schaudt Funeral Service. Family and friends may send memories and condolences to the family online, www.schaudtfuneralservice.com