Gary and Katie Parnell names as Spring City Citizens of the Year

SPRING CITY—Spring City was established by people who took care to build something that would last by using hard work, creativity, and faith. The 2026 Spring City Citizens of the year exemplifies these traits. 

Gary and Katie Parnell have been proud to call Spring City “home” for 50 years. They purchased a condemned pioneer house in 1976 and made it a home where they raised six children. The Parnells often traveled with their family, spending extended periods of time in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. They always found a way to leave these communities better than they found them.

Gary spent almost 40 years commuting to Ephraim, first as a professor at Snow College, and then as a liaison with Utah State University’s Ephraim campus. Gary served as the first bishop of the Spring City First Ward and has served in city councils and committees for over 30 years.

He was instrumental in creating the Heritage Day Festival and in gathering funds and grants to restore the current Spring City Hall. He established and currently hosts the annual Gospel Music Program held on the Sunday after Pioneer Day. This year will be the 29th annual concert. Gary’s dry humor at these events is remembered from year to year, and twice as many people come to hear his jokes as come to hear the musical performances. 

Katie (Kathryn) worked at the hospital in Mt. Pleasant and then taught science at North Sanpete Middle School and Snow College. She also represented Spring City on the school board. She plays the piano and the viola and could often be found in the orchestra pit for the annual Messiah concert or behind the piano for Primary performances. She’s helped sew costumes for countless ward road shows, high school and college theatrical performances, ballet performances, and even treks. Her rhubarb pies and apricot jam are city legends.

Gary and Katie served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2014 in the Durban, South Africa Mission, where their duties were primarily to help the Saints in the country of Lesotho. This was a homecoming for Gary, as he had been a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Lesotho after college. They enjoyed their mission so much that they returned to Lesotho in 2018-19 to conduct an additional service project at an orphanage for disabled children. 

These days, Gary can be found caring for their small farm and garden, teaching Spanish to neighbors, or volunteering at the Manti Temple. Katie still makes sure every child, grandchild, or neighbor feels loved and cared for.