Parsons woman remembered for large family legacy after death at 84

Margaret R. “Becky” Orthaber, 84, of Parsons, died peacefully May 13 at Henderson County Community Hospital in Lexington, leaving behind a family that now stretches across five generations.

She is survived by her children, Mike Hoover, Wade Hoover and Pam Parham, along with five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. In a town like Parsons, that kind of family reach marks more than a household loss. It reflects a life tied to children, grandchildren and the next generations who will carry her name and memory forward.

Orthaber’s family story also includes the relatives who went before her. She was preceded in death by her parents, Elsie Lee and Herman Pearson, her son Aaron Hoover, two brothers, one sister and one grandchild. The notice leaves a clear picture of the family circle around her life, one marked by both long roots and recent grief.

Her death was noted in Parsons just one day after it occurred, and memorial arrangements were to be announced later. For neighbors and relatives in Decatur County, the notice serves as both a public record and a reminder of how closely connected families remain in a small community.

Parsons had a 2020 census population of 2,100, while Decatur County had 11,435 residents, figures that help explain why a death notice like this reaches beyond a single address. In a city this size, a matriarch’s passing is felt not only by immediate family but by the wider network of people who knew the Hoovers, the Parhams and the generations linked to them.

Orthaber died at Henderson County Community Hospital at 200 W Church St. in Lexington, where she received her final care. What remains now is the family she leaves behind, a lineage that extends from children to great-great-grandchild and anchors one more chapter in Parsons’ local family history.