Peter J. Parsil

  Peter J. Parsil passed away, peacefully, in the very early hours of Tuesday, August 19, 2025. His beloved wife of 35 years, Brooke Minnich, was by his side. He bravely fought a battle with brain cancer but never gave up the positive outlook on life that he had always been known to endorse.

  Born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1944, Pete received an associate degree from Temple University in landscape design and went on to be supervisor of Peace Valley Parks in Bucks County for twenty-one years during which time he met Brooke. In 1987 they moved to Lititz. Both were avid mountain bikers, and one day while riding in Elizabeth Township, they saw a realtor placing a for-sale sign on a property. They asked if they could take a look and immediately fell in love with a seventeenth-century sandstone home set in a hemlock forest with a natural stream flowing thru the front yard. They made an immediate offer and bought it. It took many years of hard work, frustration, and much patience for them to turn it into a showcase cottage. Pete was a very talented craftsman and did most of the work himself. He often said that one of his pleasures in life was living at the cottage with Brooke where they planted many native plants to attract wildlife and pollinators.

  Pete embraced the natural world. He and Brooke along, with friends and family hiked, mountain biked, and camped in National and State parks in Pennsylvania and across the United States. Their “bucket list” included excursions to places like the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and St. John USVI. Locally, they were supporters and volunteered for the Lancaster Conservancy including being stewards of the Rannels Kettle Run Preserve in their backyard. Pete was a delight to hike with. He loved flowers and wildlife, and he was said to have the capability of spotting deer and birds before anyone else.

  He was an advocate for Pickle Ball both in Lancaster County and in Punta Gorda, Florida. Most every weekend was spent either playing or teaching newcomers to the sport. He supplied nets to a children’s camp and was instrumental in convincing the Elizabeth Township Supervisors to install courts at the township office.

  Pete was simply a nice guy! He had an optimistic view of life and people and a gracious sense of humor, a gentle demeanor, was kind, charitable, generous and affable. Few, if any, have ever heard him speak harshly. He is survived by brothers Wayne and Jonathan and three nieces and a nephew in addition to his wife.

   A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 30 in Steinman Hall at Moravian Manor, 300 West Lemon Street, Lititz. Contributions to his memory can be made to the Lancaster Conservancy, 117 South West End Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17601 or to the Mr. and Mrs. William R. Parsil Memorial Fund at Moravian Manor Communities, 300 West Lemon Street, Lititz, PA 17543.