FORT HALL — The Fort Hall Business Council, Fort Hall community, Indian Health Service (I.H.S) and Portland Area Indian Health Service are deeply saddened for the loss of our beloved Chief Dental Officer, CAPT William Parrish and his three family members on Saturday, February 23, 2014.

Dr. Parrish started working with the Not-tsoo Gah-nee Health Center in Fort Hall on July 20, 1995 as a staff dentist. In 2000, Dr. Parrish was appointed as the Chief Dental Officer and served in that position to the present. Dr. Parrish was a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service and reached the rank of Captain.

 Dr. Parrish was a rare individual whose professional skills and personal traits allowed him to be both sincerely revered and highly respected by all who knew him well. CAPT Parrish was an extremely energetic, compassionate professional who had a winning spirit of excellence. He had an unsurpassed devotion to providing dental care and treatment to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and other American Indian patients. He earned the admiration of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Tribal Health and Human Services Department colleagues as a team player, leader and Joint Medical Professional Staff Chairman.

 Dr. Parrish will be sorely missed by the Fort Hall Tribal community, his employees, Indian Health Service leadership, colleagues, Fort Hall Service Unit and Tribal Health Family and his community patients in Fort Hall. The Fort Hall Tribal community mourns with all over this tragic loss of a beloved community dentist and his family and sends condolences to the Parrish family.