Barry Daneman

This past January, the UMKC School of Dentistry lost one of its oldest and dearest friends, Dr. Edward P. Nelson of Kansas City .

Dr. Nelson was a 1928 graduate of what was then called the Kansas City-Western Dental College (now the UMKC School of Dentistry). He practiced general dentistry in Kansas City for 48 years and served as a clinical professor at the School of Dentistry for 38 years. He achieved excellence and distinction in both pursuits.

During his long career, Dr. Nelson served as president of the Greater Kansas City Dental Society, the Missouri Dental Association, the Rho Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honorary Dental Society, the Kansas City Midwest Section of the American College of Dentistry, and the UMKC Dental Alumni Association. He was honored by his peers at the UMKC School of Dentistry as Alumnus of the Year in 1972, and also received the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Alumni Achievement Award. He received a special commen- dation in 1998 from the trustees of the Dr. Roy J. Rinehart Foundation and the  UMKC Dental Alumni Association for "a lifetime of service to the school, profession and community."

Dr. Nelson was a generous benefactor to the School of Dentistry and other causes throughout his career. He was a founding director of the Dr. Roy J. Rinehart Memorial Foundation and a member of the Golden Spade Club. He and his wife, Vivian Menees-Nelson, endowed a scholarship and loan fund at the Rinehart Foundation, which has helped scores of UMKC dental students finance their educations. Dr. Nelson also endowed a Professorship in Community Dentistry that bears his name.

I knew Dr. Nelson on a personal level as a kind, gentle and joyous man, who loved to tell stories about the school and reminisce about classmates, professors and colleagues. He enjoyed going to the annual alumni meeting to visit with old friends and catch up on the latest news. In his 72 years as a UMKC alum, except for a couple of years during World War II, he never missed an alumni meeting.

This past August, Ed attended the mid-year meetings of the Rinehart Foundation and Dental Alumni Association at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. Up in the hospitality suite, where the past presidents and old-timers gather to swap jokes and raise a glass of cheer, Ed was welcomed as a returning hero. Frail and failing, Ed lit up the room, nonetheless. With a twinkle in his eye, his ever-present smile, and a kind word for everyone, he stole our hearts.

We will miss you, Ed.