1
tree
planted in memory of Frank W. Parrella
Obituary for Frank W. Parrella
Frank W. Parrella
January 26, 1944 – November 19, 2022
Middletown, NY
Frank W. Parrella, a lifetime Middletown resident, died peacefully on Saturday, November 19, 2022 at Garnet
Health Medical Center. He was 78.
The son of the late Dominick and Carolina Parrella, he was born on January 26, 1944 in Jersey City, NJ. Frank
had a lifelong passion for exotic cars, airplanes, people and his family. He married Christine M. Pinkham on
May 2, 1965 in Middletown. In his early years, he was a Middletown Policeman and served as the PBA
President. During this time, he also learned to fly airplanes and obtained his pilot’s license.
After serving as a policeman for 22 years he retired and pursed his passion of flying by becoming a corporate
and commercial airline pilot. His travels took him all over the globe which included flying Television Network
executives and sportscasters to the 1980 Winter Olympics, transporting famous singers such as Jimmy Buffet
to their venues and flying thousands of passengers to their destinations as a Captain for American Airlines.
As volunteer pilot for Air Lifeline, he transported patients to other cities where they could be treated by their
doctors. After retiring as a commercial airline pilot, he became a flight Instructor Pilot for CAE Simuflite
where he helped several thousand pilots obtain their pilot ratings.
In addition to his career, he was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, the Middletown Elks Lodge,
Hudson Valley Region, Porsche Club of America.
He loved his cars, traveling, his family and cherished his friends. He was the inspiration to all his children’s
goals and influential to his friends.
In addition to Christine at home; he is survived by his sons, Nicholas Parrella and his wife Elizabeth of Fairfax,
VA, Frank Parrella Jr. and his wife Lisa of Monroe, NY, his daughter Diane Burgos and her husband
Christopher of Manahawkin, NJ, His sister Maryann Mahoney and her husband Bruce of Middletown; and his
beloved grandchildren, Caroline, Stephanie, Jacqueline and Jack.
Special Thank you to the staff at Garnet Health Medical Center and Crystal Run Healthcare, especially Dr.
Robert E. Dinsmore. Additional Thanks goes to Dr. Gu and the staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Frank’s name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
(https://www.stjude.org) and Wounded Warrior Project (https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org).
To plant a tree in memory of Frank W. Parrella, visit the Tribute Store.
Previous Events
Visitation
Tuesday
22
Nov
2:00 PM
- 4:00 PM
Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home
130 Highland Ave.
Middletown, NY 10940
Visitation
Tuesday
22
Nov
6:00 PM
- 8:00 PM
Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home
130 Highland Ave.
Middletown, NY 10940
Service
Wednesday
23
Nov
10:00 AM
- 11:00 AM
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church
90 Euclid Avenue
Middletown, NY 10940
Graveside
Wednesday
23
Nov
11:15 AM
- 11:30 AM
St. Joseph's Cemetery
149 Cottage Street
Middletown, NY 10940
Entombment will take place in Our Lady Queen of Peace Mausoleum
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