A life ended too soon: Family, friends mourn loss of West Henderson graduate Parcell
HENDERSONVILLE - After graduating from West Henderson High School in June, 18-year-old Bryson Parcell had a bright future ahead of him.
"He was attending Haywood Community College, studying forestry," West Principal Luke Manuel said.
On Dec. 17, tragedy struck. Parcell was riding his motorcycle on Brevard Road in Asheville and ended up striking a Kia SUV as it was trying to make a left turn onto Brevard Road from the Discount Shoe Outlet. Parcell was rushed to Mission Hospital, where he died several hours later. According to N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Rohn Silvers, the driver of the Kia “failed to yield the right of way.”
Silvers told the Times-News Dec. 22 that charges are still pending.
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"This has just been devastating. It would be for anyone ... but it's just extra devastating," Kosha Parcell told the Times-News Dec. 22. "There's so many things to say about Bryson. He wanted to work for the (U.S.) Forest Service. He loved being outdoors. He enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing, boating, kayaking ... anything with friends and family. He was liked by everybody. He was just an amazing, sweet child. He was our best friend."
Bryson Parcell was Kosha and Erik's only child.
The news of Parcell's death came as a shock to West Henderson's faculty and students.
"Obviously it's very sad. We are all saddened. The West Henderson family hurts for the Parcell family," Manuel said on Dec. 22. "Our thoughts and prayers are definitely with them in this difficult time. He was a good young man … a bright young man with a good future ahead of him. We are very saddened by this tragic accident."
West Henderson English Department Chair Tom King taught both Bryson and his mother, Kosha.
"I remember the moment I met Bryson. He showed up on the first day of the second semester of that difficult 2019-20 school year. I saw him and instantly knew who his mother was," King said in an email to the Times-News on Dec. 22. "I taught Kosha, his mother, many years ago, and Bryson looked so much like her. She was one of my favorite students, from early on in my career, and I always remembered her vividly."
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King said he got to know Bryson Parcell in early 2020, just before school shut down for the coronavirus pandemic.
"He and I would always talk about grease-monkey stuff and building cars. I remember being envious of his 61 Chevy Apache Truck project he was working on. He was so appreciative of that experience. ... I have the impression that it was a gift from his parents. More than once, Bryson told me that he was much more interested in outdoorsmanship and mechatronics than he was in English. That always made me laugh, because what teenage boy loves English more than cars," King said.
"But I also remember that, though COVID learning was difficult and highly challenging to kids, Bryson always performed his best and never failed to do the assignments and engage with me online. That was a rarity in March and April of 2020.
"Bryson was, indeed, this rare kid, one who struggled with some English concepts, but never allowed a struggle to define him. He would try his best, make changes and improvements when I asked, and kept very positive and affable throughout the remaining months of that semester. Bryson was a strong young man with a triumphant spirit, undaunted by challenges he came across."
Shuler Funeral Home is in charge of funeral arrangements. A celebration of his life will be held at 3 p.m. Dec. 29 at the Asheville Firefighters Camp Ground in Arden.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: West Henderson graduate Bryson Parcell mourned after fatal crash
