To his family, Michael Parson was a gentle giant, a man who loved to watch boxing on television and who was the oldest of 10 siblings, beating his twin brother for the honor by just three minutes.
“He was a big guy, but just very gentle, very kind to those that he spoke with,” his brother Gene Parson said.
But Michael Parson was also battling mental illness. At around noon on Wednesday the 56-year-old walked into the Big R store on Mills Avenue, asked to see a gun, loaded it with ammunition he had with him and fatally shot himself in the head.