William Henry Parker

Bill passed away on March 17 at Cascadia of Nampa, while recuperating from a broken femur caused by a fall two weeks prior.

Bill was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, March 14, 1935. His family spent many years in the Santa Fe area where his mother and father, Paul and Ethel Parker, built and operated a roller skating rink. Bill became quite the skater in his early high school days. He enjoyed showing everyone the photo of himself nearly parallel to the floor while lighting a match in his mouth.

His family moved to Nampa in 1950, and in 1953, Bill graduated from Nampa High School. He attended a year at the College of Idaho where he met his absolute true love, Eloise Ciarsolo. On May 8, 1954, they married, and Ellie contracted polio in the same year, just months before the first successful vaccine was created. Bill devoted his life to her care.

They moved to Burley, Idaho, after marriage, where Bill was assistant manager for the Idaho Department Store. While in Burley, they had a daughter, Karen, and several years later they moved back to the Boise area where Bill made his way to the Idaho Air National Guard. He was very proud of his 38 years of service. He rose to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant and was in charge of the flight line. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Idaho National Guard Federal Credit Union and was president for many years.

Bill had many close friends and neighbors over the years, and there are two special families that need to be mentioned, the Gilbert and Donna Sinclair family (lifelong friends) and John and Neta Gaige and family (close neighbors and friends).

After retirement, Bill and Ellie would walk and visit with their “mall” friends. They met many wonderful people there and remained close friends even after they moved to Nampa in 2008. They decided they needed a closer walking location, so they joined the Nampa Rec Center, and, again, met another large group of dear friends. Dee, Donna, Joyce, Alicia, Steve and Teri were just a few of their dear friends.

Ellie’s health continued to deteriorate, and she needed to move to Streamside Assisted Living. Bill spent every day with her, but when the pandemic hit, he decided in order to see her, he needed to move into Streamside as well. Ellie passed away in 2021, and Bill’s health began to fail, so he remained at Streamside until his fall and subsequent passing. His family would like to thank the Streamside community for all the attention and care given to both Bill and Ellie.

Survivors include his daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Steve Cope, two grandsons and their wives, Kevin and Torrie Cope, Chris and Kristen Cope and their two daughters Parker and Sierra Cope, and his sister and brother-in-law Carol and Meril Ebbers. He also has numerous nephews and nieces. Bill was preceded in death by his wife Eloise, his parents Paul and Ethel Parker, and his dear brother Paul (Parker) Parker.

If you would like, contributions can be made to your preferred charity or to Bill’s favorite, the Boise Rescue Mission, 208-343-2389 or boiserm.org.