Douglas Eugene Parisian

Douglas Parisian passed on to the Spirit World on June, 9, 2011 in Alpharetta, Georgia. Doug had been a resident of the Dogwood Forest assisted-living complex there since February 1, 2011. Douglas Eugene Parisian was born in Waubun, MN on December 27, 1922. Mr. Parisian was an enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Minnesota Chippewa Indians, White Earth Reservation.


He was a 1940 graduate of Waubun High School. He joined the Army Air Force in 1944 and advanced to the rank of Flight Officer. After an Honorable Discharge from the military Doug owned and operated a small business in Morris, MN and was the Post Commander of the Morris, MN American Legion Post, No. 29 up until February of 1965 when he joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation in western North Dakota.

Doug is survived by two children, son, Dean (Pam) Parisian of Alpharetta, Georgia and his daughter, Nancy (Wayne) Kaehler of Breckenridge, Minnesota; four grandsons, Hunter Parisian and Jordan Parisian of Alpharetta, Georgia, Kyle Kaehler of Atwater, MN and Paige Kaehler of St. Cloud, Minnesota; and one great-granddaugher, Grace Kaehler.

Douglas retired from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1985 in Crow Agency, Montana and spent his retirement years in Spicer, MN up until April of 2010 when he moved back to Waubun, MN, the town where he was born and raised on the White Earth Indian Reservation.

Doug was an avid golfer, cherished his association with the Kandiyohi County Historical Society and enjoyed ice fishing and hunting. He enjoyed making Native American cultural crafts and was a talented artist in making porcupine quill chokers, dreamcatchers and totems.

Doug married Betty Dorene Marquart in 1951. His wife, Betty passed away in March of 1999 after a prolonged illness. He was proceded in death by his parents Victor and Josephine Parisian, sisters, Doris Rodwell and Alyce Mae Krueger, and brother, Leonard Parisian. His younger brother Jack Parisian resides in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

Dad accepted the inevitability of death with integrity. Most Indians have a strong and natural veneration for old age, as though it were a certificate of approval for winning the long and hard battle of life. In March of 2011 he said that dying was a natural extension of birth, that it was part and parcel, that they went together and that he looked forward to seeing his wife, Betty, in Heaven.

Dad, you were always there for me and you will be missed tremendously. I attribute much of your success in life to your ability to maintain an elevated mood and staying disciplined. You taught me well and I will do my best to honor your memory for the rest of my life.

Dean Parisian, June 9, 2011