Chester Pascual Soliz “Blue Duck” is a native elder of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian
Tribe. He was raised in Mashpee on Cape Cod, Massachusetts by his mother, Marion
Gertrude Halfkenny Lowe Soliz. Chester received his elementary education (grades 1-8) at
the Mashpee Samuel G. Davis School. His secondary education (grades 9-12) took place at
Lawrence High School in Falmouth, Massachusetts. There he was a member of the college
course and received the coveted Henry B. Smythe Honor Roll Award and the Babe Ruth
Sportsmanship Award. He graduated in 1952.
From 1952 to 1953, he attended Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, in the
post-graduate division to further strengthen his academic curriculum. Upon graduation, he
received the prestigious Dexter Lemuel Barron Award in history for writing a treatise on
the “History of Quaint Cape Cod.”
In the fall of 1953, he entered John Hopkins University where he received his undergraduate education in the biological sciences.
In 1957, he was accepted to Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He received
the degree of Doctor of Dental Medicine in 1961, as well as his license to practice oral
surgery.
Upon completion of his eduction, he entered the United States Air Force Dental Corp,
where he completed a three-year rotating internship program. In 1964, he was honorably
discharges as a captain from the USAF Dental Corp.
Dr. Soliz received a teaching fellowship in the pediatric division of the Murray & Leonie
Guggenheim Dental Clinic in New York City. He concurrently opened his private
practice in Yonkers, where he practiced dentistry and dental prosthetics for 36 years.
During his long career, he was a supervisor for the 9th District Dental Societies Children’s
Dental Health Program for 12 years. In 1983-84, he served as president of the Yonkers
Dental Society, which had 131 members. He was an attending dentist on the staff of
the Yonkers General Hospital for six years.
In 1983, Dr. Soliz was elected a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry, and in
1989 he became a Fellow of the American College of Dentists.
In 1989, Dr. Soliz received the distinguished Wampanoag Indian Tribal Business Leadership
Award.
In 1990, Dr. Soliz was elected a Lifetime Member of the NY State Dental Society and
a Life Member of the 9th District Dental Society of Westchester County, New York.
He was active in the real estate business in New York, as well as on Cape Cod, where he
built the LaPlaza Del Sol Motor Lodge, which his wife and children managed for 40 years.
Dr. Soliz was married to the late Barbara Blake Bearse Soliz for 53 years and is the
father of five children, Chester Jr., Fenton Neal, Christopher Blake, Whitney Alison and
Sydney Leigh.
May 19th Book Signing
Blue Duck Signs Books