Fred Manning Parkman

November 28, 1940 - April 22, 2020

Saluda, SC Fred Parkman Fred Manning Parkman, 79, of Saluda, SC, husband of Dorothy Sue Lindsey Parkman, passed away on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at his residence from metastatic prostate cancer and kidney failure. Born in Ware Shoals on November 28, 1940, he was the son of the late Claude Witt and Elizabeth DeVore Parkman. Most of his life was spent in Saluda County. When he was 5, his family moved to the family farm he loved in the Good Hope community. He was a member of the Saluda High School Class of 1958. Upon the untimely death of his father, he bought the family farm so that his mother and young siblings could remain there. A farmer at heart, he loved gardening, and tending to the cattle and the farm throughout his life. Fred, a respected pharmacist, was the founder and owner of Parkman’s Pharmacy which he and Sue opened in 1966 and ran together for 40 years. A 1962 graduate of the USC School of Pharmacy, Fred made the highest grade ever scored on the state boards—a record that held for 33 years until his daughter Stephanie took the pharmacy boards in 1995 and broke his record by one point. A devoted father and grandfather, he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the love of his life—his grandchildren. The desire to live to see them all graduate from college inspired him to fight the battle with cancer with all of his heart and soul. Serving in inactive duty in the naval reserves while in college, Fred began his career in the US Navy spending four months stationed at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, NH, and working at a small family pharmacy in Maine. He was later stationed on the USS Shangri-La in Jacksonville, FL. Following his military service, he worked at several drug stores before opening Parkman’s Pharmacy. An active member of the Saluda community, Fred was a Saluda Jaycee during the time that they started the Saluda ambulance service. He, along with his part-time pharmacist, organized the pharmacy operations and regulations for the Saluda Nursing Center where he served as an unpaid consultant for many years. He was devoted to the healthcare needs of the Parkman’s Pharmacy community, opening the drug store to get medications at night and on weekends and holidays for four generations of the Saluda community. A charter member of Saluda Baptist Church, Fred grew up a member of Good Hope Baptist Church. He was a volunteer at the Saluda County Historical Society. Surviving are his wife of the home; a son, James Manning Parkman (Debra) of Saluda; a daughter, Stephanie Suzanne Parkman Blizzard (Joe) of Waxhaw, NC; four grandchildren, Jake, Matthew, Jason, and Lindsey Blizzard of Waxhaw; three sisters, Claudia (Harry Patterson) Adams of Newark, OH, Jane Parkman of Charleston, Betsy Simons of Aiken; and a brother, Kenneth (Sheila) Parkman of Swansea. The family wishes to thank Hospice Care of South Carolina, Gene and Jane Cason and Elwyn and Doris Holmes for their generous help during a very difficult time. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a private graveside service will be held for the immediate family on Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 11 a.m., at Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery with Reverend Kevin Garrison, Reverend Burton Campbell and Rev. Jeff McCartney officiating. Pallbearers will be grandchildren Jake, Matthew, Jason, and Lindsey Blizzard; Gene Cason, and Elwyn Holmes. Memorials may be sent to Saluda Historical Society, P.O. Box 22, Saluda, SC 29138 or the Saluda Baptist Church Video System, 112 W. Wheeler Circle, Saluda, SC 29138.