Died on October 15, 2018 from complications of heart disease. Born July 7, 1927 to William and Alice Radentz in St. Louis Missouri. William was a dentist and Alice, nee Bauer, a homemaker. Bill grew up with his sisters Patricia (Hemminghaus) and Jackie (Duncan) in St. Louis, Missouri. Bill’s god-father and childhood hero (his mother’s favorite brother, Edward Bauer) helped him buy his first bicycle.
He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1945 and then proudly served in the Merchant Marines in WW II with his good friend Will Kirchner, with orders to Venezuela, Egypt, Gulf of Adan, Port of Abadan and Italy. A second tour of duty took them to the islands of the Pacific and the Caribbean with a promotion to Chief Electrician.
He started college in 1947 in engineering (University of Missouri at Columbia), but switched to pre-dental and dental school at St. Louis University. He later completed a two year periodontics program: 1961-1963 at Baylor Dental School in Dallas followed by a year at Fort Sam Houston for Master’s research in restoring lost bone to teeth.
Bill married Kathleen C. Johnson (“Sam”) on September 7, 1951 in St. Louis. They were happily married for 63 years until her death in 2014.
He also joined the Army Dental Corps, starting a distinguished career as a periodontist and army officer with posts in Missouri, Panama, Texas, Alaska, Kentucky and Maryland.
Five children were born to Bill and Kathleen: Stephanie 1953 (spouse Ricky) Diana 1954 (spouse Mick), Sydney 1956 (spouse Jim), William 1957 (spouse Leslie), and Stephen 1960 (spouse Magdalena).
The four years spent in Alaska included a ten day drive from San Antonio Texas to Ft. Richardson Alaska with 5 small children and a big dog in the car!; The Good Friday, 1964 earthquake; skiing and skating during the long winter months; but mostly, many great family weekends spent at a rustic cabin on Big Lake.
In 1973 Bill was transferred to the National Institute of Dental Research working in Immunology and in 1975 he was appointed Director of Walter Reed Dental Activities. In 1977 he retired as a colonel from the US Army Dental Corps to take a teaching position with the University of Texas Dental School, Houston where he won several awards as he rose to be Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 1981. He was also elected president of the Houston Society of Periodontology.
He and Sam moved to Pearland Texas after retiring from the dental corps, but later moved to Shenandoah, Texas to be closer to their daughter Sydney and her family.
His professional memberships included the American Dental Association, the American Association of Dental Schools, the Texan Dental Association, and the Omicron Kappa Upsilon.
Bill is a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal; the “A”prefix, awarded by the surgeon general in recognition of outstanding skills in the practice, research, and teaching of a specialty in medicine or dentistry, and the Armed Forces Legion of Merit.
An army officer to his core, he instilled the values of hard work, excellence, independence and healthy living in his children and grandchildren, all the while passing along a great sense of humor.
His hobbies included cars, boats, daily exercise, stock investments, reading, home projects, a Galveston beach house, and traveling with his family.
In addition to his children and their spouses, he is survived by grandchildren Jennifer Hager of California; Amy Sowells of Maryland, Beau & Krystal Radentz of California, Taylor Beers of Texas, Alice & Dana Radentz of Indiana, and great-granddaughters Bethany & Lillian Sowells of Maryland, and his sisters Pat and Jackie and nieces and a nephew.
The funeral service will take place on October 10, 2018 at Forest Park Funeral Home, 18000 Interstate 45S, The Woodlands, Texas 77384.
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