Michael “Mike” Thomas Parison, Sr., 84, of Butler passed away on Sunday, July 18, 2026. He was born in Butler on March 9, 1942, to the late John and Anna (Popivchak) Parison. Mike graduated from Mars Area High School. He honorably served in the U.S. Army in Bliss, Texas as a Private 2.
Mike served several roles in his life which he enjoyed. He was a coal miner with Bethlehem Energy Mines, heavy equipment operator/laborer with Geo-Con Services, and a janitor with the Butler School District.
Mike loved gardening and nature watching. He would sit at his kitchen window for hours looking for birds, deer, bear, and turkey. Anyone that had any contact with Mike loved him immediately. That smile and twinkle he always had in his eyes just lit up a room. He was a hard worker, loyal friend, and patriarch of our family. He would drop everything to help anyone that needed something.
Mike was a member of many organizations. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion Post 778, Lyndora, PA; VFW Post 249, Butler, PA; R.C. Men’s Club, Herman, PA; Slovak Sokol Society, Lyndora, PA. He also served as the President of his coal miners’ Union for years after they shut the mines down.
Mike married on December 21, 1973, to the late Jeannie Marie Kornick who passed away April 1, 2000. Father of Rhonda Jean (Parison) Osche, Dawn Renee (Doctor) Wise; he is also survived by his sisters Sherri Davis, Mary Eyth, Nancy Beidenbach, and brother Nicholas Parison; and grandchildren, Tyler Barkman, Anna Marie and Ashley Wise, Hunter and Jordyn Osche, Trevor, Michelle, and Lacey Parison.
Along with his parents and wife, Mike was preceded in death by his son, Michael Thomas Parison Jr, and his siblings, John and Joseph Parison, Eva Varos, Helen Cole, Mildred Varos, Diana Beidenbach, Zora Carroll, and Antoinette (Toni) Fletcher.
All arrangements were made through SPENCER D. GEIBEL FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, 140 NEW CASTLE RD. BUTLER, PA 16001. WWW.SPENCERDGEIBEL.COM. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 1, 2026, from 12-3 PM at American Legion Post 778, 150 Legion Memorial Lane, Butler, PA 16001.