Jarabak (1906-1989)

SuccessTo win the respect of intelligent people and the

affection of children; to earn the appreciation of hon-est critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; toappreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to giveof oneself, to leave the world a little better, whetherby a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemedsocial condition; to know even one life has breathedeasier: this is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

he orthodontic world has been saddenedof one of its great educators, Joseph R.

Jarabak, DDS, MS, PhD. Dr. Jarabak died on April24, 1989, after a prolonged illness. He is survived byone son, Joseph W. Jarabak, MD, of Hinsdale, 111.;one daughter, Barbara Drennan, DDS, of Evanston, Ill. ;and grandsons Joseph, Michael, and John Drennan. Dr.Jarabak is also survived by his sister, Anna Jerrell ofFlorida. His wife, Louise Ada Jarabak, died in 1973.

Joseph Jarabak was born April 18, 1906, in Ever-green Park, Ill. He was the eldest child of Paul andMaria Jarabak. Both parents were immigrants fromCzechoslovakia and sett led in the East Chicago Czecho-slovakian community. They raised four sons, Joseph,John, Rudolph, Paul, and one daughter, Anna. Theparents stressed the need for education, and Dr. Jarabakoften stated that his mother would remind them of thefact that “education was the cheapest commodity onemay achieve but the most expensive if you do not havea proper education.” He often said that his early yearsof grammar school were a challenge because of his needto master the English language since Czechoslovakianwas the primary language he understood.

After graduation from East Chicago WashingtonHigh School, he attended the University of Michiganand chose electrical engineering as his primary field ofstudy. Many of his classes were similar to those of thepredental s tudents , so he also found himself consideringdentistry as a career and assessed the need for dentistsat that time. In keeping his options open, he applied tograduate schools in both engineering and dentistry. Thewinds of fate provided that the dental school acceptancecame first; hence he took the invitation to enter dentalschool, and dentistry has forever benefited.

In 1930 Dr. Jarabak received his DDS degree fromthe Universi ty of Michigan Dental School . At the heightof the Depression, he opened his private practice ingeneral and pedodontic dentistry in East Chicago, Ind.In 1941, he received his MS degree in orthodonticsfrom Northwestern University School of Dentistry.

Joseph R. Jarabak

From 1943 to 1947, he practiced o~hodo~tics andtaught at Northwestern University as an assistant inanatomy. This led to a research fellowship in anatomyand he received his PhD degree in anatomy and ortho-dontics in 1953.

In 1952 Loyola University School of Dentistry se-lected Dr. Jarabak to become chairman of the Ortho-dontic Department. Starting with one student, be builtthe department until it became one of the most dynamicand prestigious and graduated many o~tst~ding ortho-dontists. His philosophy of teaching orthodontics co-incided with two major wars, Korea and Vietnam. Itwas an era of nondiscipline among the thinking inAmerica. Dr. Jarabak, however, maintained the disci-pline that was needed to achieve quali ty academic ortho-dontic results. He stressed the need for thoroughnessof diagnostic records, a keen awareness of medical andclinical findings, and the understanding and thoroughknowledge of biomechanics.

In 1963, collaborating with James Fizzell, an elec-trical engineer, he published a classic orthodontic text-book, Technique and Treatment With the Light-WireAppliance. The popularity of Dr. Jarabak’s book re-sulted in numerous orthodontic seminars and coursesin the Jarabak differential light-wire appliance.

During the time Dr. Jarabak taught at LoyoSchool, he traveled around the world, fromTokyo, to Germany, and to Italy. He also had a verybusy private practice, first with Gilbert Carter thenwith Thomas Cavanaugh in Hammond, Ind. Y of

Volume 96Number 4

his patients served as thesis material for his graduatestudents in pursuit of their advanced degrees.

Dr. Jarabak was the recipient of many degrees andhonors. The following is a summary of his professionalhis tory:Educat ion1930 - DDS, University of MichiganI941 - MS in orthodontics, Northwestern University1951 - Research Fellow in anatomy, Northwestern

Universi tyhD in anatomy and orthodontics, Northwestern

University1958 - La Federation Odontologica de Centro America

y Panama DiplomaI967 - LLD (Honorary Doctor of Laws), Loyola Uni-

versi tyI982 - La Academia Mexican0 de Orthodontia Di-

plomaSocieties1947 - Society Sigma XI, Honorary Research1952 - OKU (Honorary Dental Society)1958 - Dental Alumni Association of Loyola Uni-

versity, Honorary Member1981 - Indiana Dental Association, Life Membership

- International Association of Dental Research- Omicron Kappa Upsilon

e of American Board of Ortho-dontics

- American Association of Orthodontists- American Equilibration Society, Life Mem-

bershipCert$cates1963 - Certificate of Merit: American Prosthodontic

Society1981 - Certificate of Appreciation: Department of

Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Tohoku Uni-versi ty

- Certificate and Medallion: Associated Ortho-dontic Journals of Europe

Plaques956 - Chicago Association of Orthodontists963 - American Association of Orthodontists963 - Southern Society of Orthodontists963 - Johnson County Dental Society

3 965 - Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Depart-ment of Orthodontics

965 - III Congreso International Odontologico, Ar-gentina

1965 - Central District Dental SocietyI966 - American Dental Association1967 - Westchester Alumni Chapter1967 - Loyola University School of Dentistry

1979 - Class Dedication Plaque, University ofChicago

1981 - Tokyo Medical Dental University- Odontolographic Society of Chicago- Loyola University Orthodontic Foundation- Universiteit Van Amsterdam- Northwestern University, Life Member-G.V.

Black Society- University of California, Los Angeles, School

of Dentistry- Chicago Jarabak Foundation for Orthodontic

ResearchAwards and achievements1963 - Apostolic Blessing from the Pope1970 - First Jarabak course in Switzerland-Diagnosis

and Treatment Planning1971-1981 - Clinical Professor, Department of Qrrh(r-

dontics, University of Chicago1977 - Testimonial of Gratitude, Northwest Indiana

Dental Society1978 - Recipient, Calvin S. Case Award, Loyola Uni-

versi ty- Eastman Orthodontic Alumni Association, Hon-

orary Membership Clinic Award1983 - Purkinji Award in Science, Czechoslovakia1983 - The Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award1986 - Creation of the Louise Ada and Dr. Joseph R.

Jarabak Professorial Chair in Orthodontics,Loyola University

- Professor Emeritus of Orthodontics, LoyolaUniversi ty

Publications1963 - “Technique and Treatment with the Light-Wire

Appliance” (co-authored with Mr. James A.Fizzell)

1965 - “Management of an Orthodontic Practice”1972 - “Technique and Treatment With Light-Wire

Edgewise Appliances”Following his tenure at Loyola Dental School, Dr.

Jarabak taught jointly with T. M. Graber at the Uni-versity of Chicago and in later years confined his teach-ing to his parents’ native country of Czechoslovakia.Dr. Jarabak was a person who remembered the valueof education from his parents and, in turn, made gen-erous f inancial gif ts to the Universi ty of Michigan Den-tal School. In 1986 Loyola Dental School set up theLouise Ada and Joseph R. Jarabak Professorial Chairin Orthodont ics .

In his retirement years, Dr. Jarabak devoted his timeto raising his prized orchids, and his love of travelafforded him the opportunity to indulge in his passionfor photography.

The loss of Dr. Jarabak to his family, friends, and

in memoriam

William Lincoln Wilson

the orthodontic specialty is profound, but his legacy oforthodontic excellence will live on. He instilled in thosehe taught the true meaning of the degree of DDS, whichsignifies not only Doctor of Dental Surgery but alsoduty, devotion, and service.

Harold Y. Arai, DDS, MSPark Ridge, Ill.

Thomas Cavanaugh, DDS, MSValparaiso , Ind.

km i%woh W i l s o n (19124988)

illiam Lincoln Wilson, DMD, died on8, in Winchester, Mass., where he had

lived and practiced most of his adult life. He is survivedby his wife, Mercey Jeanne; a daughter, Joan; and twosons, William and Robert.

Rorn in Everett, Mass., on Feb. 12, 1912, Dr. Wil-son attended local schools and Tufts College and de-veloped a lifelong interest in genetics. In 1932 he en-tered Harvard Dental School, where he excelled ,in theundergraduate orthodontic courses. At his graduationbe was awarded the Senior Gold Medal and the covetedHarriet Newall Lowell Certificate. Shortly after this, he

a s invited to serve as a part-time instructor at thearvard Dental School, an appointment that led to an

extensive exposure to clinical orthodontics.

In 1948 he decided to specialize and joined a facultygroup with whom he had been associated for manyyears. Soon thereafter he was appointed a lecturer inorthodontics at the Harvard School of Dental Medicineand later became an affiliate at the Forsyth Dental Cen-ter. He served his dental school and the Forsyth DentalCenter over a span of 40 years, and in 1982 he receivedthe Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Although he accepted no administrative post inorthodontics, his inAuence was neverrheless felt by hiscolleagues in his ability to mediate sensitive discus-sions. He was often called on to moderate panels whosemembers held sbarply differing; strongly held, and con-tradictory opinions. His position was one of openness,honesty, and self-searching for a needed reconciliationthrough unity of purpose and not necessari ly uniformityof method. His search for forthright answers, supportedby an in-depth educational experience and a compre-hensive knowledge of orthodontic literature, disarmedsimplistic arguments and pointed the way to under-standing. At various times when dental groups openlycondemned orthodontic practices and sought formalconfrontation, he responded to their bitter challengeswith patience and good will.

He served the AA0 as spokesman, defending theprofession in the press and on radio and television,always affirming the positive achievements of the or-ganization and its members in the face of criticism.Twice he was selected to deliver the Golden Anniver-sary Address at annual meetings of the AAO.

Dr. Wilson had a profound interest in diagnosis andtreatment planning. He constant ly s trove to pinpoint thecauses leading to treatment failure. An inquiring mindcoupled with a creative approach led him to observethat various appliances, although efficient in manyareas, were less so in others. He concluded that the useof a “pure” appliance for all cases was the “great ortho-dontic illusion.” To overcome these appliance deficien-cies, he developed specific modules that could beadapted to standard appliances. These modules per-mitted the operator to bypass and control many prob-lems and opened the possibility of multidirectio~aItreatment with most appliances and to a reductionof orthodontic failures. This was “enhanced ortho-dontics. ”

He was the author of many articles in the litera-ture and of three textbooks, which he wrote with hisson, Robert, dealing with his 3-D modules and theirapplication. With Robert he traveled throughout theUnited States and to countr ies in Europe and SoutheastAsia to bring firsthand explanations of “enhanced ortho-

dontics _ ”Besides being an extraordinarily skilled ~raetitio~er,