Milton Henry Parra, Jr.

Milton Henry Parra, Jr., a man of strong faith, passed away peacefully on November 13, 2024 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease at 81 years old. Born on December 29, 1942, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At four years of age, Milt dreamed of becoming a pilot. He fulfilled this dream and loved his time in the skies. 

Milt’s professional career began 1969 in the Navy when he was selected for pilot training. After two years of training, Milt received his “wings of gold” in 1971. He was assigned to the Naval Air Station, Kingsville, Texas but was able to continue flying the A-4Skyhawk on an additional duty basis with the training squadrons assigned there. After completing this tour, Milt received orders to VF-43 at Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach, VA. This was a squadron that provided recurrent instrument flight training for fleet aviators and offered adversary services for fleet fighter squadrons. This squadron used the A-4 for both instrument training and to simulate enemy aircraft in “dogfights”, so Milt was able to use his experience and knowledge of the Skyhawk to good advantage. After completing this tour, Milt opted to leave active duty but remained affiliated with the Navy and Naval aviation, joining VC-686, a Naval Air reserve squadron flying Milt’s beloved A-4s out of NAS Oceana. Milt completed his reserve duty there, rising to become the Executive Officer of an affiliated reserve unit that trained pilots for VC-686. He proudly served for eight years of active duty, followed by six years in the reserves.

In civilian life, Milt began working for the flight department of RJ Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, NC. There he flew the G-1 and Falcon 20 business jet. While he enjoyed his time there and rose to captain, his dream was to fly for Piedmont Airlines, a dream that was realized when Piedmont hired him in June 1984. He started out as a flight engineer on the B-727, worked his way up to captain and eventually was chosen for the important role of training new pilots in the venerable Boeing, both in simulators and in the aircraft. Piedmont was eventually acquired by USAirways, and Milt returned to “line” flying, this time on the Fokker F-100 as the 727s were retired. He finished his career flying the Airbus 319/320/321, retiring in 2002 after a career flying thousands of hours in various aircraft, all free of accidents.

Milt was known for his gentle soul and had an innate ability to bring joy to those around him. He was grateful for time spent playing golf or cards at the Peninsula Club with his friends or gathering with family for dinners and celebrations. He particularly enjoyed fresh oysters and crawfish boils inspired by his years in New Orleans. And for 25 years he looked forward to the Sunday fellowship of the Don Bridger Class at Mount Zion.

He is survived by his loving wife of 27 years, Diane Parra; his son Milt Parra III and his wife Lisa; daughter Michelle Powell and her husband Marcus; step-daughter Christine Senn and her husband Carl; step-son David Barbin, Jr. and his wife Rachel; along with his beloved grandchildren Zachary, Katie, Alex, Stella, and Noah. Milton shared an enduring bond with his three nieces and three nephews, who remained very close to him throughout his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Milton and Catherine Parra, and his sister Denise Bostic.

We would like to extend much appreciation to the caring staff at Terra Bella Memory Care. In particular Pam, Mylene, Tasha and the Queen of Fun, Theresa.

A memorial service in honor of Milt will take place on November 30, 2024, starting at 11:00 AM at Mt. Zion UMC, located at 19600 Zion Ave, Cornelius, NC 28031. This will be followed by a Celebration of Life beginning at 12:30 PM at The Peninsula Club, located at 19101 Peninsula Club Dr, also in Cornelius, NC 28031. Friends and family are invited to come together to celebrate the life of Milton Henry Parra, Jr..

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Samaritan’s Purse or Angels and Sparrows Community Table, https://angelsandsparrows.org/.