Jack Alan Menius

Jack Alan Menius Sr. died Sept. 18, 2023, at Glenaire in Cary, N.C., after a few months of declining health. Jack was born in New Bern, N.C., on Jan. 21, 1933, the youngest of four children of Sudie Grey Lyerly Menius and Espie Flynn Menius. He graduated from New Bern High School, where he played the cornet and was voted “most likely to succeed.” Although college and career took him away from New Bern, he passed his love for the riverfront town on to his family.

Jack attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and, when working a summer job at a Michigan resort, he met fellow UT student and love-of-his-life Kay Elizabeth Ellis. They married Sept. 3, 1957, and moved to Richmond, Va., where Jack completed dental school and a residency in pediatric dentistry at the Medical College of Virginia.

Jack had always wanted to be an engineer, but the math had proved too much for him. Choosing dentistry instead, he also chose a path of service and education, providing care to those with special needs and passing his knowledge and expertise along to young dentists following him.

In 1961, Jack and Kay moved to Raleigh when Jack accepted a position as dental director at Murdoch Development Center in Butner, N.C. There, Jack became highly specialized in care for the developmentally disabled, providing care with great compassion. The young dentists he hired as associates learned as they worked beside him at Murdoch. At the UNC School of Dentistry, Jack was an adjunct professor one day a week, teaching pediatric dentistry with a focus on children with special health care needs.

In mentoring future pediatric dentists, Jack also formed many lifelong friendships. His colleagues remember his genuine interest in them and their lives. They refer to themselves as “Jack devotees,” and to Jack as “a good man who did a lot of good.”

In Chapel Hill, Jack became known as the Captain of the Porthole (restaurant) lunch team, leading colleagues on a fast walk, full of talk, to a lunch of good food and free advice. When Jack retired from Murdoch and his adjunct faculty role in 1985, those friendships lived on. In 1995, the Dental Foundation of North Carolina and the School of Dentistry honored Jack in establishing a University Named Fellowship to support pediatric dentistry residents. He won the Razor Walker Award in 2005 for distinguished service to the children and youth of North Carolina. He was a founder of and leader in the Southern Association of Institutional Dentists.

Jack was a longtime member of Raleigh’s White Memorial Presbyterian Church, where he sang in its choir for many years. He volunteered for the Raleigh Triangle Branch of the United States Pony Club, building cross country jumps and overseeing Pony Club rallies. His daughters remember him as a “Jack of all trades,” able to do anything, fix anything and build anything, including a barn for their horses.

In 2014, Jack and Kay moved to Glenaire in Cary, N.C., where they had many dear friends and made many more. They quickly became involved in its community, and Jack became known for his wit and humor.

When Kay died in 2020, she and Jack had been married for 63 years. Jack is survived by daughters Merry Kay Leithead and Suzanne Menius, daughter-in-law Deborah Menius, seven grandchildren and a great granddaughter. His son Jack Alan Menius Jr. died in June this year.

A memorial service will be held Monday, Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1704 Oberlin Rd., Raleigh, N.C. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Jack A. Menius Fund at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry in support of pediatric dentistry fellowships, online at https://dentistry.unc.edu/ or by mail to Dental Foundation of North Carolina, UNC Adams School of Dentistry, Campus Box 7450, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599-7450. Please designate the Jack A. Menius Fund.