Dr. Franklin D.R. Piacentini

Piacentini, Dr. Franklin D.R. 77 Jan. 30, 1934 Aug. 16, 2011 Dr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Piacentini was born Jan. 30, 1934, at home on S.W. Kelly St., Portland, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's birthday. His mother was hoping for a daughter after having two boys and did not have a name chosen for a boy. The attending physician suggested she name him after the President. Among his memorabilia is a letter of congratulations from President Roosevelt. Frank grew up in a large extended Italian family, including not only his parents, Carl Piacentini of Lucca, Italy, and Margaret Gilda Colistro, of Trail, B.C., and two older brothers, Carl and John, but his mother's nine sisters, maternal grandparents and numerous cousins. He and his brothers had lots of adventures growing up. Frank especially remembered his brother John forging excuse notes to his teacher at Richmond Elementary School, so they could go to Oaks Park for the afternoon. He loved chemistry experiments, which in one case blew out the basement windows of the family home. While intelligent, lively and curious, Frank was a poor student in his early years in elementary school and at Franklin High School. He did not start to bloom academically until college at Portland State University, when he spent long hours studying in his parents' basement. He was a top student in his dental school class at the University of Oregon Dental School (Oregon Health & Science University) where he received his Doctor of Dental Medicine. He then earned his Master of Science in Dentistry degree in Orthodontics from the University of Washington School of Dentistry. Frank thoroughly enjoyed his orthodontics practice of 38 years and was proud of the fact that he had straightened the teeth of more than 10,000 patients. He was very involved in his profession and taught at the dental school for a short time. For many years he was a consultant for the Crippled Children's Division at OHSU School of Dentistry. Frank was the past president of the Northern Section-Pacific Coast Orthodontics Society, past president of the Oregon Orthodontic Society and the Oregon Society of Dentistry for Children. He was a member of the Oregon Orthodontic Research Seminar for all his years in practice. Frank was a firm believer in community service, most recently serving as president of the Portland Japanese Garden Foundation board and as a member of the Finance and Investment Committee of Providence St. Vincent Hospital. His past community involvement included serving as past president of the Portland Japanese Garden Society, the North Clackamas County Chamber of Commerce and the Milwaukie Rotary Club. He was a past Master Treasurer of the Knights of the Vine wine brotherhood and a board member of the Portland Bologna Sister City Association, Board of Regents, St. Mary's Academy and the Council of Trustees, Providence St. Vincent Hospital. In addition to his active orthodontic practice and community service, Frank developed many residential projects, individually and with partners. Some of these properties included Claremont, Portland; Broken Top, Bend; and The Capes, Oceanside, Ore. He was a partner in the development of the 1515 Building, Burlington Tower, the Bank of America building and numerous commercial and apartment properties, as well as residential developments. In 1959, Frank married Dorothy Jeanne Barker, whom he met while she was working at the dental school. They have three children and six grandchildren. Frank was especially proud of his Italian heritage and made a number of trips to Italy. He and Dorothy enjoyed four different cooking classes they took while in Italy. Frank took great pleasure cooking "Italian" for his friends and family. Upon his retirement from practice, Frank took over most of the cooking duties at home. He loved good food and had nearly perfect recall of the meals he especially enjoyed at home and abroad. In addition to cooking, Frank enjoyed tending to his Japanese-style garden at his residence and hunting for mushrooms. A love of t ravel took Frank and Dorothy to more than 60 countries. His favorite trip was to South Africa and Botswana in June 2009 with Dorothy and all their children and grandchildren to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The most important aspect of Frank's life was his family, especially his grandchildren, whom he loved very much. Frank spent many special moments creating projects with the grandchildren, such as rubber band guns, inventing board games and composing long elaborate stories on the spot. Frank is survived by his wife; son, Frank B. Piacentini and his wife, Sara W. Weinstein; son, Robert P. Piacentini and his wife, Liping Tang; daughter, Angela J. Kilman, Ph.D. and her husband, Matthew; grandchildren, Zachary M. Ledesma, Yi Tang Piacentini, Franklin A. Piacentini, Alexander R. Kilman, Maxwell T. Kilman and Sofia Tang Piacentini; aunts, Gloria Catalan and Lorraine Livesay and her husband, Earl; and nieces; nephews; and cousins. Frank was predeceased by his parents; and brothers, Carl and John. Celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, at Saint Michael's Catholic Church, 1701 S.W. Fourth Ave., Portland. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Portland Japanese Garden Society, Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation or Portland Opera.