Biography: Harry Parkin Saunders, 50, of Little Rock and New York City, died Wednesday, June 8,2011 in New York City. He was born to Jane Parkin McMullin, of Little Rock, and Charles Sullivan, in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 19, 1960. Parkin graduated from All Saints Episcopal School in Vicksburg, Miss., and attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the New York School of Interior Design. Moving from Arkansas to New York in 1980 to pursue the study of interior design, Parkin began his New York design career as an apprentice to Mario Buatta, but his earliest influences were based at home. In 1985, Parkin founded the firm Saunders & Walsh with his late-partner, Christopher Walsh, and in 1996 formed his eponymous New York-based design firm, H. Parkin Saunders, Inc. Parkin supplemented his creative gifts as a decorator with an encyclopedic knowledge of art and design, enormous personal style, an incorrigible sense of humor, and an unforgettable Southern drawl. Parkin's personal design philosophy was that "all good things go together" and in his life, as in his work, they did. To step into Parkin's world was to step outside of everyday reality into a realm of exquisite yet accessible perfection - a mode of living that combined traditional good taste and Southern hospitality with an inimitable sense of contemporary chic. A lover of fine clothes, food, wine, flowers, art and travel, Saunders spent his life indulging his interests and generously sharing his experiences with friends and family. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in New York City, served on the board of the All Saints Episcopal School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and sat on numerous committees related to the business of design, art and antiques in New York, Greenwich, Southampton, and Paris. He was predeceased by his father, Charlie Sullivan. He is survived by his partner, Ryan Nessing, of New York; his mother, Jane McMullin, his adoptive father, Bill Saunders, of Little Rock; his step-father, Carleton McMullin: his sister, Vicki Saunders Kirchoff, of St. Louis, MO; his brother, Andrew Saunders, of Los Angeles, CA; nephews Harry Kirchoff, Nicholas Kirchoff, and niece Katherine Kirchoff of st. Louis. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorials be sent to the Central Park Conservancy (Park Benches Fund) 14 East 60th St., New York, NY 10022 or the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum for Design 2 East 91st St., NewYork,NY. A memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, AR, with a luncheon immediately to follow in Morrison Hall. A separate memorial will be held in New York City at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com
What a beautiful and elegant man he was.
He was a lot of fun and quite a character.
Dean Farris