The first black woman to attend and graduate from college in the state of Nevada, Stella Mason Parson has died at the age of 86.
At a time when segregation still governed American life, Stella Mason Parson graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1952 and later earned a Master’s degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1986.
The daughter of a sharecropper, Parson led a life that included teaching for the Clark County School District for 33 years (many of which were spent at the historical West Side school), raising three children who earned their own degrees, having an elementary school named for her and her late husband, Claude H. Parson, Jr., and receiving a 2002 University of Nevada, Reno President’s Medal for her accomplishments.
Along with her husband, Parson’s contributions to the church community helped to set the tone and shape the religious landscape for the Las Vegas valley.
She and her husband founded the Vegas View Church of God in Christ in 1965 and went on to birth over 50 ministries to date.
Her legacy lives on in the many men and women that she taught, inspired, mentored and counseled.
A memorial service to honor Stella Mason Parson will be held on Friday, August 5, 2016 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at Vegas View Church of God in Christ located at1906 Glider Street in North Las Vegas.
The viewing will be from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
The Legacy Celebration will be held on Saturday, August 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, located at 1117 F. Street.
