Gold Star Mother To Receive Stamford Veterans Park Partnership Award

Via Stamford Veterans Park Partnership

STAMFORD, CT — On Wednesday, Sept. 21 during their annual benefit dinner, the Stamford Veterans Park Partnership (SVPP) will present Patricia Davis Parry with the 2022 Patriot Award for her work in support of active military and veterans locally and across the country.

The SVPP Patriot Award recognizes civilian members in the community who have helped make a difference by honoring our country, veterans and those actively serving in the military. The benefit will take place at the Woodway Country Club in Darien, and the proceeds will support the organization's mission.

The SVPP is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that helps raise funds and collaborate with individuals and organizations to help preserve and publicly display memorials of veterans, educate the public regarding veteran history, support a safe and attractive hub for public gathering and help perform beautification and enhancement initiatives in Veterans Memorial Park.

"The renovation of Stamford Veterans Memorial Park started with Pat Parry’s visit to my office. She had a vision of honoring the sacrifices made by individuals serving in our military, veterans, their families, and the ultimate sacrifice made by her son, Navy SEAL Brian Bill," said Rick Redniss, President of SVPP in a news release.

Parry is one of seven children born into the Davis family in Stamford. She graduated from Stamford Catholic High School and St. Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing in New York City. Parry lived in Massachusetts and worked at Boston City Hospital before returning to Connecticut in 1976 where she continued her nursing career working at St. Joseph Medical Center, then in private duty nursing, dialysis and research.

Parry and her husband, Dr. Michael Parry, raised five children, Christian, Amy, Brian, Andrea and Kerry.

Parry is a Gold Star Mother. Her son, Navy SEAL Chief Brian Robert Bill, was killed in action on Aug. 6, 2011. Parry is a member of the Connecticut Department of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. and is the president-elect of the Waterbury Chapter.

Parry and her husband work to raise funds for a scholarship in Brian’s name at Norwich University. Over these past nine years, Parry has served as a member of the leadership team with the SVPP, and currently as a member of the board of directors.

In September 2021, the SVPP recipient of the Patriot Award was Stamford’s own, Tony Pavia. In 2019, Christopher Meek, co-founder, chairman and CEO of SoldierStrong, and senior director and global relationship manager at S&P Global, Inc.,was the recipient of the award.

Sponsorship and reservation inquiries for the benefit event can be made to Colleen Harkey at harkeyvppartnership@gmail.com. Visit the SVPP website for more details.