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Don Parsons of Kingston

By Mike Bonish, 05/19/15, 5:15PM EDT

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Arrangements - and Cape Cod Whalers Tribute

Donald Edward Parsons Sr., age 64, passed away peacefully on May 16, 2015, after a hard fought battle with cancer. Don was surrounded by his loving family. Don was a loving husband and best friend of 47 years to his wife June; a devoted father of three to Donny, Cheryl, and Brad; a caring grandfather of eight; and a coach and mentor to numerous hockey players and student athletes. He was a kindhearted, humble, compassionate man who genuinely cared for others. Don loved the game of hockey and enjoyed making a difference in the lives of young men who played the sport. He created South Shore Sport about 35 years ago, to serve the needs of local area hockey players. He established the Cape Cod Whalers hockey program, whose mission is to build a platform for high-character, high-achieving hockey players to attend college as student athletes. Don was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Parsons. Don is survived by his wife, June; children, Donny and Kristen, Cheryl and Luke, Brad and Elizabeth; brother, Harry, and sister-in-law, Diana; and his grandchildren, Brooke, Alex, Abby, Maggy, Maddox, Hannah, Laney, Connor; and his best buddy, his dog, Dylan. Calling hours for Don will be held at the Shepherd Funeral Home, 216 Main St. (Rte. 106), Kingston, Wednesday, May 20, from 4 to 8 p.m. A celebration of Don's life will be held Thursday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at the Shepherd Funeral Home in Kingston. Interment will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Kingston. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, c/o Brian Wolpin GI Cancer Research Fund, 450 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA, 02215.

More info from Patriot Ledger >> 


Tribute to Donny from the  Cape Cod Whalers 18U G.M. Frank Nelson. It truly does describe “Donny" to a T!:

Don Parsons loved the game of hockey and the difference the game could make in the lives of the young men who played for the Cape Cod Whalers over the past 25 years.

Don and his wife of 47 years June were proud parents of their son Brad who went on to play at Princeton. Don was extremely interested in the Whaler players and wanted them whenever they could to use hockey to get into the best schools they could. For Don, hockey was the door opener to college and life and he was always asking the Whalers coaching staff about the teams grades and SAT scores. That said ,Don loved to have great teams and the more  high character kids we took the better the Whalers performed. During Don’s stewardship the Whalers have sent over 200 student athletes onto play college hockey. Forty players have gone on to play in the Ivy League,45 players to NESCAC schools,18 to BC,14 to BU,14 to NU. Over the past 15 years 40 Whalers have been selected in the NHL Draft. This past season Brooks Orpik captained the Washington Capitals while Brian Boyle is a captain for Tampa. Kevin Hayes is playing for the NY Rangers while his brother Jimmy is playing for Florida. Cory Schneider, Mark Fayne, Brian Gibbons, Paul Carey, Ryan Whitney, Michael Morris, Mike Ryan are all NHL level examples of what Don Parsons believed in. They all finished high school here in Boston and they all finished college and then they went to play in the pros with their diplomas in hand. When the U 18 team would have a big win we’d get in the car after the game to call Don with the news only to find that he had already either left us a message  or sent a text  congratulating the team. Don loved the Whalers and his passion was evident in everything he did concerning the team. He made it easy for the coaches to coach by taking care of the thousand details behind the scenes required to run a top notch program. His one mantra to the coaching staff…..recruit solid character kids from solid families who value education. He also liked to recruit high school captains and it wasn’t uncommon for recent U18 Whaler teams to have 10 captains on the same team. Don was really proud that many Dads who accomplished the highest levels in hockey trusted the Whalers to coach their kids through the high school years. Kevin Stevens, Tommy O’Regan, Marty MCcinnis, Teddy Donato, Scott Harlow, Steve Rooney, Randy Wood, George Hughes to name  just a few greats who have had their kids suit up for the Whalers.