Parrett, George

George Parrett

June 28, 1933 - February 12, 2026

George L. Parrett, fondly known to many as "Mr. Parrett," passed away Thursday, February 12, 2026, at the age of 92. After 52 years of marriage, George and his wife Marilyn recently moved from their family home to their new apartment at the Big Sky on Waterford.

Born June 28,1933, he was the fifth of seven children of Ruth and Walter Parrett. As a lifelong Butte resident, George always told the best stories of his time growing up on Harvard Avenue and attending Whittier School. After graduating from Butte High in 1951, George worked for four years while attending business school at night before enrolling at Western Montana College in 1955 to become a teacher. He spent his summers working in Butte at First National Bank and Montana Hardware before graduating with honors in 1959. He later went on to receive his master's degree from the University of Montana where he became a lifelong, "Griz" fan.

George dedicated over 40 years of his life to serving the Butte community as a teacher or administrator at the Harrison, Grant, Madison, Hawthorne before returning to Whittier as principal in 1978 until his retirement. During this time, he also coached track for over 20 years and shared his love of gardening with the children at Whittier where each student would plant their own marigold in front of the school each year.

After retiring, he continued with his love of teaching by volunteering at Whittier and eventually at Hillcrest until 2024. He became an avid runner, competed in several 5K, 10K, and half marathons, including many Governor's Cup races and the Rock 'n' Roll half marathon multiple times in Phoenix, AZ. He would spend many hours in his greenhouse and garden so he could provide and plant flowers at their church every summer. He always enjoyed spending time with their dogs and grand-dogs, and trips to the Dairy Queen for special treats were common.

George was instrumental in starting and ensuring the completion of The Spirit of Columbia Garden's Carousel project. As a lifelong advocate for both children and the community, George spent 23 years working on the carousel project. During the early years of the project, he helped Butte elementary students collect one million pennies to fund the purchase of two carousel horses. Because of these efforts, one can now take a ride on "Penny" at the Butte carousel or snap a photo with "Alphabet" at the Butte Library. In addition to the many hours spent carving and sanding horses, George also served as the carousel treasurer. It was a proud moment in his life to see the carousel completed and watch his own kids, grandchild, family members, and the city of Butte enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Because of his lifelong dedication to the children and community, he received the honor of being named Grand Marshall of the 4th of July parade in 2025. He would always smile when he'd recall the many former students who waved and came up to him as they rode by in the parade.

George was known for his kindness, swift sense of humor, devotion to his family, love of learning and teaching, and has left behind a legacy of children who can read, write, add, subtract and plant marigolds because of him. The number of former students and friends who have reached out are a testament to the kind of man George was and the legacy that he leaves behind.

Bill Foley said it best in his podcast about George in July of 2025 when he said, "When I was in grade school in Butte, there were basically two kinds of kids: Those who had Mr. George Parrett as their principal and those who wished they did." Perhaps it would be fair for us to take it one step further and say, "There are those who knew George, and those who wished they did."

George was preceded in death by sisters, Alice (Dale) Roslosnik, Lois (Bill) LeProwse, Flip Rand, Grace Parr; brothers, Lee (Cecelia) Parrett, Frank Parrett; sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Buddy Rauh; as well as numerous close friends and teaching colleagues.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; son Chris (Jake Jensen) of Butte; daughter, Mary (Dominic) Davis of Chandler, AZ; granddaughter, Merijane Davis, who affectionately referred to him as the "Grampa Man"; sister-in-law, Carol Parrett; brothers-in-law, Ken (Jack), Rob (Delayne), and Larry (Danette) Whorley.; his honorary 2nd daughter, Karen Jean Olds, to whom he will always be "Mr. P"; also surviving are many much-loved nieces and nephews, cousins and close friends including, Jim Ayers, Karen and Tom Laity, Jim and Kathy Loughney, Glen Sharon, Julie Buckley, Cookie Jordan, numerous teacher friends from Whittier; and special cousin Barbara Goodman Roper.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Spirit of Columbia Gardens Carousel or the Chelsea Bailey Animal Shelter.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

" Robert Frost, from "The Road Not Taken"

Please visit axelsonfuneralhome.com to leave a condolence or share a memory of George.