William Duncan Love's Obituary
Dr. William Duncan Love, 98, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, in Dallas, Texas. He was born on November 11, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Major General Walter Duncan Love and Oleta Calhoun Love, formerly of Falls Creek, Pa. Walter, a small-town dentist, joined the army during WWI. Bill attended school by rickshaw in Tientsin, China; graduated from Roosevelt HS in Washington, D.C. (1938); and spent two years at the U. of Hawaii as a pre-dental student. In 1940 his father was reassigned to Fort Knox, Ky., so Bill transferred to the U. of Louisville. He completed his dental degree (D.D.M.) and joined the army in December 1943. In January 1944, Bill married the love of his life, Jane Eades of Central City, Ky., after a speedy nine-month courtship. In February 1945, he was sent to the European front. Attached to multiple army units, Bill and three lab technicians roamed Europe in a prosthetics lab truck, providing denture services.At the end of the war, Bill decided to specialize in prosthetics and stay in the army. Jane joined him in Linz, Austria, in 1946. After a couple of stateside assignments, Bill was selected to be the director of the dental clinic at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii (1954-57). The transfer of the 25th Division to the post from South Korea, bringing in thousands of GI’s with rotten teeth (due to sugar diets and no fluorides), made Bill’s clinic a popular but alarmingly overcrowded and chaotic destination.Bill’s next assignment was far calmer. As Director of the Fort Jay (Governor’s Island), NYC, Dental Clinic (1958-1962), Bill became the personal dentist of General Douglas MacArthur and his staff. He and Jane became hole-in-one golfers at the island golf course and saw every musical on Broadway until, in 1962, at age 42, Bill completely changed direction. He graduated from the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and headed out of clinics and into administration. With a commendation medal for his service at Fort Jay, he relocated his family to Seoul, South Korea, becoming a “Senior Advisor” in the newly formed Korean Army Dental Corps (1962-64). Returning to the United States as a full colonel, he joined the Medical Field Service School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in a teaching capacity, later becoming Chairman of the Department of Dental Science. His work at Ft. Sam resulted in a second commendation medal.In 1969, during the Vietnam War, he was assigned to Honolulu, Hawaii, as the Army Pacific Dental Surgeon. The next year (1970), he was reassigned as the Deputy Chief of the Army Dental Corps at the Pentagon. He left Hawaii for Washington, D.C. with a Legion of Merit Distinguished Service medal. Two years later, in 1972, he retired from the army with a second Legion of Merit medal.Too young to retire, Bill was accepted by Johns Hopkins University to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health. From 1974 to 1985 he was a full professor of community health and preventive dentistry at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, retiring with the designation of Professor Emeritus. Hoping to inspire preventive dentistry, he published articles on the subjects and wrote his own textbooks. Part of his job was supervising students in mobile units, a throwback to his time in Europe during WWII.Bill and Jane had three children: Robert D. (Judy) Love, Dallas, Texas; Janie Wilson, Reno, Nevada; and Kitty Massey (Steve), Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas. In addition to his children, he is survived by 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, as well as numerous nephews and nieces and their families. He participated in Boys Scouts and coached Little League, sang in the choir with Rob and helped with homework. In South Korea he served on the School Board. At Governor’s Island, Bill and Jane ran the duplicate bridge games at the Officers’ Club. In retirement they ran a golf group at Prestonwood CC. They were active members of First United Methodist Church of Richardson and gave generously to their church and other charitable organizations.Bill and Jane traveled the world and hosted huge family reunions. Shortly before her death on April 10, 2014, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. God, Family, Honor, Duty, and Country ordered Bill’s life. He was an eternal optimist and dedicated to physical fitness. At age 98, he lived independently. He had an amazing ability to accept change — he operated an Apple Watch, iPhone and computer, and downloaded movies from iTunes on his TV—and he enthusiastically encouraged all members of his family. He loved people of every ethnicity and social standing. We will all miss his cheerful and loving presence in our lives.A celebration of Bill’s life will be held at the Restland Memorial Park Chapel, 13005 Greenville Ave., at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, officiated by Dr.Clayton Oliphint.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First United Methodist Church of Richardson 503 N. Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75081.
What’s your fondest memory of William?
What’s a lesson you learned from William?
Share a story where William's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with William you’ll never forget.
How did William make you smile?