Dr. Ronald Dixon Woody

On Monday, August 26, we lost a husband, dad, grandfather... Dr. Ronald D. Woody. He is survived by his Wife Janet, Sons David, Michael and John, Daughters-in-Law Vickie and Whitney, and Granddaughters, Sara, Preston, Lauren, Sydney and Lili.

Funeral arrangements are set for Friday, September 6th. Full Honors Military Service will be held at 9 AM, Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, please be certain to enter at LANE 2 for the service (https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/dallasftworth.asp), followed by a Service of Celebration at 12 PM, First United Methodists Church, Richardson Texas (https://www.fumcr.com/).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be sent to the Baylor Oral Health Foundation, 3600 Gaston Avenue, Suite 1151, Dallas TX 75246. Please designate Texas A&M College of Dentistry New Building Fund.

https://donorbox.org/187a8eb3-ac83-4c23-99a9-92db65a51e2d

Your contribution will go towards the construction and naming of the Dental School's new Dr. Ronald D Woody Implant Clinic.

While he was a man of many interests and accomplishments, he shared the following thoughts in an article written about him and his storied career in Dentistry. He said...“My wife of 60 years, three sons, and five granddaughters have given direction and balance to my life, and their constant support is responsible for anything I might have achieved.”

Not only was he humble, he was a mentor, an advisor and an example of how to love, everyone, unconditionally, and it showed up in everything that he did! He was a loving husband to Janet for over 60 years, college sweethearts who started their journey together freshman year. And a loving grandfather to 5 beautiful granddaughters.

He was an amazing dad, always present and engaged. He served as the starter and swimming official for years at the YMCA (all three sons were swimmers) he was involved with us in Boy Scouts and Indian Guides, he was our golfing buddy, and so much more! But more than anything, dad shared his love of sailing with all of us, and all of the lessons associated with that pass time, including patience, strategy, the ability to know how to shift with the wind, and to realize that some conditions you couldn’t control. Like the tides and currents, all things that can take you off your anticipated course, were not just lessons for the sea, but lessons intended to take ashore and apply to our everyday life! He loved being out on the water, it was his happy place! Especially in the dark of night, at anchor, where he could spend hours pointing out the constellations and give just a bit of background on each (OK, a lot of background on each).

Professionally Dr Woody started his Pre-Dental curriculum at Albion College in 1956 and received his dental degree from Marquette University School of Dentistry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1963. He entered the Army Dental Corps in 1963 with an Internship at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu,

Hawaii, and later went on to Graduate Studies in Oral Biology at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., Residency in Prosthodontics, Letterman Army Medical Center, San Francisco, California, Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Biomaterials, National Institutes of Health, San Francisco and Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Electron Microscopy, U.S. Army Institute of Dental Research,

Washington, D.C. During his 21 years in the Army, retiring as a Colonel, he held a number of important military and academic appointments and was awarded numerous military honors in Vietnam and other medals related to his service. Some of these included the “Legion of Merit” and the “Bronze Star Medal”. He received the “A” Specialty Designator awarded by the Surgeon General which is the highest professional award within the Army Medical Department and was also appointed a Consultant to the Surgeon General in Fixed Prosthodontics. For 34 years Dr Woody was a Tenured Professor and Director of Graduate Prosthodontics and Implant Dentistry at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Woody held numerous leadership positions in Research and Clinical Residency Programs. He is past President of the specialty organization, the American College of Prosthodontists and the American College of Prosthodontists Education Foundation. He is also past President of the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics and served as a member of the American Board of Prosthodontics for eight years and was its President in 1994-95. He is a fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists and a fellow of the American and International College of Dentists and a fellow of the International Team for Implantology (ITI). Dr. Woody served as a consultant to numerous organizations including Veterans Affairs (VA) U.S. Army Dental Corps. and U.S. Navy Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. Dr. Woody was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Ph.D.) from the University of Athens in Athens, Greece for his worldwide leadership and significant contribution to the advancement of Prosthodontics.