Arlon Lee Parish, 84, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, died peacefully on June 27th, 2026. He was born on October 14th, 1941, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was a popular student in high school, and he was a talented athlete in basketball, baseball, and track and field. He briefly went to Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa, before changing schools and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Iowa in 1965 and then with a Juris Doctor from the same university in 1968. After practicing law for a while in Council Bluffs, he moved to New Mexico and eventually got involved in real estate and land development, moving to Las Cruces in 1981. During his time in Cruces, Arlon was responsible for developing many of the areas Las Crucens know and love today – the High Range, Country Club Heights, Arrowhead Estates, and others. He was the type of guy who’d walk into the post office or a restaurant have someone who appreciated him come up to say hello and have a chat. He loved what he did for a living, considering it a hobby and an extension of his own ability to make or build almost anything. He also enjoyed teaching others the art of his trade and left an impression on everyone he worked with. Among his other hobbies were aeronautics, cars, sports, and his beloved cats.

Arlon leaves behind his loving wife of 30 years, Brenda, and their three cats, Tiger, Cougar, and Cymba. He also leaves his son, Nelson Parish, and his wife, Kyoung-Hee Jung, of Busan, South Korea; his son, Carey Parish, and his wife, Kate Parish, of Littleton, CO, as well as his granddaughter, Keegan Parish, of Bellingham, WA, and grandson, Drew Parish, of Melbourne, Florida; and his step-daughter, Rachel Petty-Wood, and her husband, Craig Wood, of Seattle, WA. He was predeceased by his younger sister, Beverly Ravnsborg, of Council Bluffs, IA, and older brother Donald Parish, of Underwood, IA.