Dr. Violeta Arboleda, 92, died peacefully, in her home in Cambridge, MA, surrounded by loved ones, on Friday, June 15, 2018. She was the wife of Dr. Howard Baden, to whom she was happily married for 37 years.
Initially trained in Latin America, she became one of the first women periodontists in the United States, entering Tufts Dental School's graduate program in the 1940's, and thereafter becoming a member of its faculty, as well as a leading practitioner in Boston.
Dr. Arboleda was born in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, the daughter of Rosa Cadavid and Fernando Arboleda. She was one of six extraordinary sisters, who excelled in the fields of politics, music, cuisine, art history, genealogy, and medicine. Dr. Arboleda obtained her DDS from Universidad Nacional in Bogata in 1948, and then left Colombia to study with renowned periodontist Irving Glickman at Tufts Dental School.
She graduated with a masters and married Dr. Glickman, settling in Boston and assisting him with his textbook, Clinical Periodontology, as well as translating a manual on dental hygiene for the American Academy of Periodontology and writing a chapter on oral pathology in Robbins' Pathology. Dr. Glickman died in 1972 and, in 1981, Dr. Arboleda married Dr. Baden, an eminent Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Dermatologist, assisting him during his editorship of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and in the preparation of various scientific publications.
In addition to her professional achievements, Dr. Arboleda was a loving and devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend. She was also an active supporter of music and the visual arts, an accomplished Colombian tiple and cucharas player, an ardent bridge player and a passionate golfer.
Dr. Arboleda leaves her husband Dr. Howard Baden, children Alan Glickman and Dr. Denise Glickman, grandchildren Eric, Sarah, Matthew, Jonathan and Julian, stepchildren Dr. Scott Baden, Dr. Lynn Baden and Jeff Baden, five step grandchildren, sisters Pubenza and Mireya, and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. She touched the lives of many people and will be greatly missed.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 10 AM in Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard Street, BROOKLINE. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions, in Dr. Arboleda's name, may be made to a charity of one's choice.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18