"In Memoriam: Ellwood (Lee) Parry III
By University Communications
October 11, 2005
Art Professor Ellwood Comly (Lee) Parry III died Sept. 11, after a long battle with cancer at the age of 64.
Parry began teaching at the UA in 1981. He was born in Abington, Penn., where the Parry family had long been active in the Abington Friends Quaker Meeting. He grew up in nearby Jenkintown and Dresher and attended Meadowbrook School and William Penn Charter High School. Parry spent part of one high school year as an exchange student in the French region of Alsace that may have helped foster his later appreciation of French art.
Parry taught art history at Columbia University (1969-1975) and the University of Iowa (1976-1981) before joining the UA. He also taught classes in the Humanities Seminars program and was interim director of the Tucson Museum of Art in 1987 while on sabbatical from the UA. Parry served on numerous boards and committees including the board of trustees and advisory board of the Tucson Museum of Art, The University of Arizona Public Art Advisory Committee and the editorial board of the American Art Journal.
Early in his career, Parry faced a choice between continuing as a college professor or becoming a museum professional. It was a difficult choice because he delighted in working with actual works of art, but in the end his passion for teaching won out. Parry loved teaching in any setting, but he especially enjoyed lecturing to large audiences of undergraduates or the general public and sharing his love of art with as many people as possible." University of Arizona web site.
Sad to learn of my cousins passing.
