Employer Terrell Hills, Texas Name Charles Parish Religion Episcopalian | Term 13th term Known for Portrait photography | |
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Occupation Photographer and politician Title Council Person for Terrell Hills City Council Alma mater TMI — The Episcopal School of Texas, Trinity University | ||
Charles Wesley Parish is a city council person for the city of Terrell Hills, Texas and a professional photographer in the San Antonio area.
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Early life
Parish graduated from the Texas Military Institute out of high school, after which he graduated from Trinity University. He was commissioned in the Corp of Engineers in the U.S. Army. He was a paratrooper and an aviator. He worked for his family's business, before becoming a professional photographer.
Photography career
Parish's first photography sale was a photograph of President John F. Kennedy taken the day before he died, which gained a popular following and over 150 orders from students at Draughon's Business College. Soon after this he began to make his income solely through photography.
The San Antonio Business Journal has called Parish the "dean of San Antonio portrait and wedding photographers", and the San Antonio Express-News has called him a "photography icon". He was the owner-operator of Parish Photography between 1964 until his retirement in 2012, continuing on as a photographer with the company after his retirement and sale of the business to his colleague Jenna-Beth Lyde. He started the photography shop with his late-uncle George Parish. Parish worked in tandem with the next-door store Wedding Planners, owned by his wife, and also opened a second photography studio called Alamo Photo Labs. The News called Parish Photography "one of San Antonio's most successful businesses of its kind". He is a past president and founder of the Professional Photographers of San Antonio.
Political career
Parish has been a city council person in Terrell Hills, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio, since 1988. He has stated that he will continue on as councillor until at least 2016, in order to see the completion of the new City Hall.
Personal life
Between 1999 and 2001, Parish traveled to all 254 counties in the state of Texas with his granddaughter, a 44 travel day journey of over 17,000 miles with 14,000 being by car and 3,000 being by air. Along the way Parish arranged for his granddaughter to meet more than half of the county judges in the state, as well as then Governor Rick Perry. Following their trip, Parish also endeavored to introduce his granddaughter to other states' governors, and was able to in five other states, with governors including Mike Huckabee, Bill Richardson and George Pataki. He is also the author of the blog A Bride Idea: Anecdotes of an Old, Grouchy Wedding Photographer. Parish is also a motorcyclist, having owned several Harley-Davidsons. In the 1970s he became involved in the Episcopalian lay movement in Texas, and is married to Betty Parish with whom he has had two children. Parish's brother Edwin is a retired Secret Service officer who, during his career, protected figures including President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. His grandfather was the founder of San Antonio post-secondary school Draughon's Business College.