By Chris Mayhew
Enquirer staff writer

INDEPENDCE - Because of his Eastern Kentucky roots, Russell Parrett referred to himself as a mountaineer, but people in Boone County knew him as their grocer and meat cutter.

Parrett, the former owner and operator of the Union IGA, died Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Hospice in Covington. He was 82.

Shoppers knew him as a practical joker who developed relationships with many of his customers, said his son, Jess Michael Parrett of Cincinnati.

After he sold the store, people would stop him and tell them how much they missed him, the younger Parrett said.

"He had a terrific sense of humor, always joking with people." Parrett said. "He would pull benign practical jokes, but nothing hurtful."

Once, a customer wanted to buy a meat product, and she told Parrett one of his competitors had it for $1.99, and that his was more than $2, his son said.

"He said, 'Well, when I don't have it I sell it at that price too,' " his son said. "Then I'm sure what Dad did was sell it to her at that price."

In 1969 Parrett built a home in Florence. He moved to Independence several years ago.

In the 1970s, he worked at IGA stores in Cincinnati. Previously he had worked at several grocery stores in the Northeast, and for the former Albers Grocery stores in Cincinnati.

Parrett left his childhood home in Jackson County when he was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 19 during World War II.

He grew up on a farm near McKee and hauled coal and drove a truck, his son said.

"He spent about 15 years in the military, where he learned his trade," Parrett said.

During the war he ran field kitchens in the South Pacific, his son said.

After the war he was trained as a meat cutter, and he ran commissaries at several bases including Fort Belvoir, Va. He left the military sometime between 1955-56, his son said.

A member of First Church of Christ in Burlington for more than 30 years, he enjoyed helping people accomplish something, whether through physical labor or by donating money, his son said.

"He was a very strong man, both physically and mentally," his son said. "He had an incredible amount of strength and incredible amount of faith. And he was an extremely generous man."

Other survivors include his wife, Anna; two brothers, Ernest and Raymond, both of Jackson County; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Two sons, Clifford Parrett and Dennis R. Parrett, preceded him in death.

Services have been held. He was buried in Seven Pines Cemetery in Jackson County, on land that was formerly his grandfather's farm.

Memorials can be made to the charity of one's choice.

E-mail cmayhew@enquirer.com