Retired florist cultivates hope in inmates
Charlie Parsons, 80, has spent a lot of time in jail.
But it was by choice.
Parsons had owned Coldwell and Garland Florists for 18 years and taught horticulture at Spokane Community College for 15. In 1987, when he was newly retired, he attended a training meeting for Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministries.
“I had a desire to help people,” he said, “and I knew there was hope for those in prison.”
Many inmates are far from home, and the hours in stark prison cells are long and lonely. So Parsons, who is most comfortable in gardens and greenhouses, began to lead a monthly Bible study at Pine Lodge Correctional Center.
With a gentle smile and teary eyes, he refers to the inmates he’s mentored as his friends.
Bob Norman was one of those Parsons visited.
“Charlie showed unconditional love to me,” Norman recalled. “I was allowed to leave the facility to attend church, and Charlie drove out to get me.
“He gave humbly and sacrificially to my family and me, and he’ll be an influence on me till the day I die.”
In 19 years of prison ministry, Parsons has been a regular visitor at all four area jails and prisons. Rich Withers, former chaplain at Geiger Correctional Facility, has seen Parsons’ rapport with the inmates.
“Charlie has a father’s heart,” Withers said, “He’s a pillar of strength and stability for these men to turn to.”
Chris Moore-Britton, coordinator for Prison Fellowship Ministries, said she’s seen inmates moved to tears in response to Parsons’ genuine love. She’s watched street-toughened men laugh and cry with him as he shared the hope of Jesus Christ.
When Dorothy, his wife of 48 years, began experiencing health problems, Parsons knew it was time to curtail his jailhouse visits. He began what he calls his “quiet ministry.”
He corresponds with inmates in several states, writing as many as 16 letters per month, through the After Care arm of Prison Fellowship Ministries. After Care volunteers write letters and meet with newly released inmates, mentoring and encouraging them as they return to society.
One young man incarcerated in California wrote to Parsons, “You’re a wonderful role model for me. I want to one day be like you.”
Another inmate wrote, “You’ve given me hope and strength. Please don’t run out on me now.”
When asked if he’s gotten anything out of these years of ministry, Parsons’ eyes filled with tears and he said, “I’ve received joy unspeakable.”
At home, the Parsons’ stunning North Side garden received the Garden Clubs of America’s Beautification Award in 2004. He’s spent a lifetime growing flowers and teaching others to cultivate their own patches of beauty.
But, his most challenging garden patch has been in institutions, planting seeds in the hardened souls of the incarcerated.
And those seeds continue to bear fruit. Many of those he’s mentored have returned to jail after their release, not as inmates, but as volunteers with Prison Fellowship.