February 22, 2025, 85, Goldsboro —
Constance “Connie” Rose Parnell, 85, passed away on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville with family by her side. Born in Johnston County on October 20, 1939, she was the daughter of the late James Roger and Elizabeth Warren Rose.
Raised in Brodgen, Connie graduated from Princeton High School in 1957. That same year, she married the love of her life, Kagie Parnell, and together they raised two sons, Tony Ray and Kenneth. Kagie’s Army career, took him, Connie, and their sons to postings in Kansas, Texas, Italy, Georgia, Alabama, and Kentucky. Connie would return home to Brogden with their children during Kagie’s unaccompanied trips to Vietnam. Connie and Kagie were happily married for 30 years until his passing in 1987 from cancer as a result of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. She was a dedicated supporter of veteran’s rights and benefits, even speaking before Congress at the United States Capitol. After Kagie retired from the military, they built their home in Rosewood and Connie went back to school to become a teacher’s assistant, working at Micro-Pine Level Elementary School until she retired. She also served as the president of the Teacher Assistant’s Association for Johnston County. She loved to teach children to read and after retirement worked part-time tutoring at Johnston Community College and Rosewood Elementary.
Connie always had a big vegetable garden and loved to grow flowers. There were many occasions that strangers would stop by just to look at her beautiful yard and flower beds. She was an excellent cook and her freezer was always stocked with vegetables from her garden. Family and friends especially looked forward to her lasagna, a recipe she learned from a restaurant while living in Italy.
Connie was a woman of bold assertiveness and unapologetically herself. She had a no-frills approach to life that came from years of experience. Her wisdom was rooted in practicality—she didn’t sugarcoat things and was readily available for all kinds of advice. She’d tell you like it is, even if it was a tough lesson. With hands that had weathered every kind of hardship, she saw the world for what it was, but she faced it with dignity, humor, and an endless supply of stories that gave her advice a unique charm.
Connie was a beloved mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, and friend. Her legacy of determination, resilience, and the best collards and lasagna will live on forever.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, February 27, 2025 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at Seymour Funeral Home followed by a service at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel with Rev. Kelvin Gurley officiating. Interment will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 28, 2025 in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery.
Connie is survived by her sons, Tony Ray Parnell and wife, Terri; and Kenneth Parnell and wife, Sherry; grandchildren, Josh Parnell (Karla), Lindsey Parnell (Ty), and Chase Parnell (Ariel); great-grandchildren, Madison, Will, Hadley, and was anticipating the birth of her fourth great-grandchild, Kody (Chase); sister, Ann Rose Parrish; sister-in-law, Nancy Rose; and her special k-9 companion, Sam.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Kagie Parnell; brother, James “Jimmy” Rose; sister, Betty Rose McKinnon; grandson, Daniel Parnell; nephew, Wayne Rose; and niece, Paula Rose Porter.
Services are entrusted to Seymour Funeral Home and Cremation Service.
