Reunion checkup

Eleven dentists from the class of 1943, almost 20 percent of the original graduating class, gathered at the McNamara Alumni Center in June. The classmates have been meeting annually since the end of World War II, but this was the first gathering back on campus.

Photo by Mark Luinenburg

From M, fall 2003

When the School of Dentistry's class of 1943 gathered for its 60th reunion, it was a noteworthy milestone, even though most of these classmates see each other every year. "We skipped a couple years during World War II, but we've met every year since that time," says Dr. Albert Flor (D.D.S. '43) of New Richland, Minnesota, who organized the June 25 reunion. Of the original 57 members of the class (56 men and one woman), 24 are living and 11 attended the 2003 reunion, held in the McNamara Alumni Center. "We think we have the best teeth of the alumni," Flor says. "But we take a count of how many of us have pacemakers. In this group, six or seven of us have one, including me."

The keynote speaker was 2004 UMAA national board president Jerry Noyce (B.S. '67), son-in-law of Dr. Stanley Veker (D.D.S. '43) of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, who helped organize the event. "They were all very impressed with [the alumni center]," Veker says of his classmates. "I dragged a few of them into that trophy room [the Heritage Gallery] and then couldn't get them out! You'll find them when you sweep up."