In Memoriam - Dominic Parisi

After both parents died before his first birthday, Dominic G. "Nick" Parisi spent his childhood in orphanages, beginning with one near his birthplace in downstate Junction City.  But by age 6, Dr. Parisi had found a home at Angel Guardian Orphanage on Chicago's North Side. He got the support he needed from nuns at the facility, where he blossomed both personally and academically, loved ones say.  "He realized early on that his only way out of his situation was through a good education," said his daughter Rose.

The former chairman of the department of management at DePaul University in Chicago, Dr. Parisi was also the founding director of the university's School of Public Service, one of the first graduate programs of its kind in the country, colleagues said.  Dr. Parisi, 92, who retired as professor emeritus in 1990 after decades of teaching at DePaul, died of congestive heart failure Saturday, Aug. 21, at his Chicago home.

I think Nick grew up with that orphan, kid-on-the-street mentality that really had a lot to do with who he was later on in life," said close friend and former student J. Patrick Murphy, who now serves as director of the School of Public Service at DePaul.  "He wanted to make the world a better place, and he wanted to inspire others to do the same," Murphy said.

While attending DePaul Academy in Chicago, Dr. Parisi worked part time digging tunnels downtown for CTA trains. He also earned a scholarship to play football at the University of Chicago -- back then part of the Big Ten Conference.  But by the end of his freshman year, Dr. Parisi had enlisted in the Navy and participated in the Anzio and Normandy invasions during World War II. He later received a Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds he suffered when his ship was torpedoed.

After his military discharge, Dr. Parisi returned to Chicago and received a master's degree in business from the U. of C. in 1948. He received a doctorate degree in business from Northwestern University in 1966.  From 1948 to 1960, Dr. Parisi worked as a manager for Marshall Field's department store in the Loop.  During that time, he began teaching night business courses at DePaul, where in 1962 he became an assistant professor and three years later chairman of the department of management.

In 1970, Dr. Parisi became the founding director of the School of Public Service, which combines management training with practical skills to develop leaders in nonprofit and government sectors.  "He was smart, wonderful and very generous," Murphy said. "He brought to the classroom so much of his own life's experiences."

Other survivors include his wife of 66 years, Helen; a son, Mark; two other daughters, Susan and Jean; a sister, Sister Carmeline, a nun with the Order of Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ; a granddaughter; and four step-grandchildren.  Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei, 1224 W. Lexington St., Chicago.

Credit: By Joan Giangrasse Kates, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE. Chicago Tribune, August 25, 2010, page. 25.

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Dominic Parisi, founding director of DePaul's School of Public Service

Dominic "Nick" Parisi, the retired chairman of the Department of Management and the founding director of what evolved into DePaul's School of Public Service, died Aug. 21 of congestive heart failure at the age of 92.

He retired in 1990 after more than 30 years of teaching at DePaul.  A U.S. Navy veteran of the Anzio and Normandy invasions, he was a recipient of the purple Heart Award.

Parisi grew up in a Chicago orphanage that provided only two years of high school education.  The orphanage made arrangements with DePaul University for Parisi to attend the DePaul Loop Academy to complete his high school education in its evening division.

Parisi earned a bachelor's degree and an MBA from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in business from Northwestern University.

After World War II, he worked for about 12 years in management at Marshall Field and Co.  He began teaching part time in 1956 at DePaul in the evening division and became a full-time professor in 1962.  In 1970, he helped found the Public Service Graduate Program, which in 2007 became the School of Public Service, now one of the largest schools of public service in the country.

"Nick was very smart, very entrepreneurial," said the Rev. J. Patrick Murphy, C.M., director of DePaul's School of Public Service.  "he had a certain 'orphan-on-the-street' approach that allowed him to grab for an opportunity."

Parisi was a generous donor to a number of charitable causes, most notably to DePaul.  He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Helen, their four children, and several grandchildren.

Insights: A publication for alumni of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, DePaul University, Winter 2011, Vol. 22, No. 2, page 4.