Obituary of John F. Killilea, DMD

Dr. John F. Killilea, DMD PEABODY--Dr. John F. Killilea, 93, a longtime Malden dentist, Reading resident, and former chief of oral surgery at Malden Hospital and Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford, died early Sunday morning at Brooksby retirement community in Peabody, Ma. Dr. Killilea was born in Malden on July 22, 1913, the second of three children of William and Hannah Killilea. A graduate of Malden High School, in 1930 he enrolled at Tufts University. A talented student, he aspired to study medicine and to become a surgeon. An opportunity unique to the Depression years convinced him to change his course to dentistry, however. Under a special dispensation, he was allowed to forgo the final two years of undergraduate work at Tufts and begin his studies at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). At 19, he was the youngest of his 37-member class at HSDM. He graduated in 1936 and went on to an internship at Worcester City Hospital, one of only a few hospital internships for dentists at the time. He was then appointed chief of oral surgery at Malden Hospital and, concurrently, to the same post at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford. He served in this capacity for 20 years at Malden Hospital, and for ten at Lawrence Memorial. He was also oral surgery chief at the New England Sanitarium in Stoneham. He took great satisfaction for paving the way for acceptance of dentistry at these hospitals. In 1935, for his own amusement, he auditioned for a role in a local play production called Little Ann’ s Affair. He started dating one of its cast members, Irene Cronin, of Medford, and in 1939, they were married. They were married for more than 66 years. In 1937, when he was 24-years-old, he started his dental practice in the Dowling Building in Malden. Later in life, he wrote to his dental school alumni secretary about the growing practice that had to be put on hold during the war: In 1941, I recognized an increasing need in suburbia for evening and Saturday hours, and acquired an associate. Multiple associates followed, mostly from Harvard Dental School. After enlistment in the U.S. Navy, I spent most of my service time in a foreign country named Florida, U.S.A. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Dental Corps, stationed first with his young family at the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard then, for most of the war, in Miami. At the conclusion of the war he returned to his practice in Malden. In 1947, he and his wife bought a house on Longview Road in Reading. They raised their three children and lived there happily until 2002, when they moved to the Brooksby Village retirement community in Peabody. In 1982, Dr. Killilea returned to HSDM as a member of its faculty, teaching Oral Diagnosis and Radiology until 1990. In 1985 he sold his practice to an associate. He continued to work there until 1990 when, at age 78, after 53 years of dentistry, he retired. A member of his college glee club, he was also a talented public speaker. At various times through the years he was president of almost every organization he belonged to, including the Malden Kiwanis Club, the Malden Chamber of Commerce, the East Middlesex Dental Society, and the New England Dental Golf Association. In Reading, he was a member of the Town Meeting and a member of the Board of Health. Dr. Killilea was a lifelong traveler, reader and athlete. He credited sports and exercise for tempering the stresses of running a dental practice. He learned to alpine ski in the 1930s, long before it became a mainstream sport in the U.S., and traveled with friends to ski in the European Alps. He played tennis, enjoyed walking, and was an avid golfer with many friends at the Salem Country Club in Peabody, where he was a member since the early 1960s. I never could have handled my job without such athletic catharsis, he wrote to his alumni secretary. In his last hours on Sunday morning he was in the company of his son Tom, his daughter Ann, and his son-in-law Gary. On Friday his wife Irene lovingly recounted his achievements as a husband and father; he was not able to speak, but was able to squeeze her hand in acknowledgement of these last affections. He leaves two sons, John F. Killilea Jr. of Margate, Fl. and Thomas W. Killilea of Boston; a daughter, Ann Killilea Brown of Concord; a son-in-law, Gary A. Brown of Concord; and five grandchildren, Kurt T. Mullen of Newburyport; Alison W. Killilea, of Boston; Jacqueline A. Brown, of Concord; Carolyn I. Brown of Concord; and Caroline O. Killilea of Boston, and several wonderful nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by his sister Margaret, his brother William, and his grandson John Francis Mullen. .Relatives & friends are kindly invited to gather at 9:30 AM in the Chapel at Brooksby Village Retirement Community, Peabody, followed by a Funeral Service at 10 AM. Reception to follow at Salem Country Club, Peabody. Burial will be private at a future time in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’ s Association, 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472. Funeral planned with Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, Peabody.