By Anastasha Elliott
Parnell Ficklin died last Friday from the effects of a stroke he had in 2000.
Ficklin and his wife Pat, are well known in Nevis for their charity work with children.
His funeral service will be held 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the New Testament Church of God in Bath Village.
On Tuesday, Pat said that she would appreciate the presence of the people whom her husband helped at the funeral. She has asked that they sit up front in a place of honour.
Ficklin, an ex-marine, will be buried with full military honours, said his wife.
She disclosed that U.S. Marines would be attending the funeral to give her husband a military burial.
Parnell Ficklin was one of the first black marines to serve in the U.S. Marine Corp. He was a Montfont Point Marine in the 51stDefence Battalion between 1942 –1946 and was stationed on both Guam and Eniwetok in the South Pacific Islands.
She noted that a movie is being made on July 29 about the battalion, in which Ficklin served.
After leaving the marine core, Ficklin worked for the U.S. government in the Department of Defence for 32 years before retiring.
That was 19 years ago.
Following his retirement Ficklin and his wife moved to Nevis where over a 19-year period they gave much to the island and people of Nevis.
In the last 25 years of his life, prior to his stroke, Ficklin was a Sunday school superintendent, choir director and a deacon in the Baptist Church.
According to Pat, her husband first moved to Nevis it was to work with teenagers. She said they did bible study, counselling, taught Sunday school and taught Sunday school teachers .
She said they gave thousands of books including bibles to pastors, churches, and the public library. Up to 1989 they had given 6,500 books and from then on gave 100 boxes of books per year.
The couple also provided the means for some 54 children to travel to the United States to receive medical attention, such as open-heart surgery.
They also provided relief during Hurricane’s Hugo (1984), George (1998) and Luis (1995), in addition to constructing homes for citizens of Montserrat residing on Nevis in 1998 with the help of volunteers from the US and assistance from Pastor Eric Maynard.
Pat explained that her husband had been in a nursing home in Gingerland since 2003.
“His mind had gone completely,” said Pat.
Those who knew Ficklin remember him fondly, and said he would be missed.
