CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Dr. Frank Willard celebrated his 104th birthday on June 11 surrounded by his friends and neighbors.
Willard is a World War II veteran, and he told Clarksville Now he served nine years in the military as an artillery soldier. After his career in the military, he went on to dental school, where he was a dentist on Madison Street for 34 years.
Although Willard is now hard of hearing, he is still a joyful spirit. “I live the best I can, I do the best I can, I’ve never really been sick.”
“I’m getting cards all over the state of Tennessee,” Willard said with a laugh.
Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts attended the celebration and revealed that Willard was his childhood dentist from the age of 6 to the time Pitts was 18.
“I remember very distinctly his office,” Pitts said. “He just had a gentle touch and a great chairside manner. He is iconic. We thank him for his service to our nation, but we also thank him for his service to our community.”
Don Ammerman, Willard’s son-in-law, has been a part of the family for over 40 years and came from Florida to celebrate.
“A lot of people didn’t know that he was quite a horseman in his day,” Ammerman said. “I’ve only been on a horse one time and that was the time Doc put me on his horse, and I think he gave the horse a swat on the hind end because that horse took off for home with me in the saddle and no idea where the brakes were.
“I’ve loved having him as a father-in-law because I never knew what was going to happen next,” he said.
Fellow dentist Dr. Grace Lee has known Willard for almost three years, and she organized the event. She described Willard as her adopted grandfather, with both of them having a passion for dentistry.
“Every time I would come by, we would just have a conversation,” Lee said. When his wife of 76 years, Katherine Willard, passed away last year in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee sometimes brought him a meal and company.
“He’s just a great person,” Lee said. “He gave me his old dental instruments that obviously I cannot use because it’s 50 years old, it’s all rusty, but it’s something that is museum-worthy.”
As for parting wisdom from a now-104-year-old, Willard had this to say: “Take care of your teeth.”