Sanford Plainfield

Sanford Plainfield, DDS Passed away peacefully at his home in Berkeley, CA, on Saturday, May 2nd 2009, after surviving the death of his wife, Ruth, by less than two months. Sanford was born on July 25, 1922, in Providence, RI. He married the love of his life, Ruth, in 1946. They settled in Berkeley where they lived the rest of their lives, and where their two sons, Mark and Kim, were born and raised. Sanford established a private dental practice in Alameda where he cared for generations of patients for close to 50 years. He taught for nearly 30 years on the faculty of the Dental School at UC Medical Center. He achieved great renown in his professional life through his membership in a variety of professional organizations, his numerous publications and his pioneering work in the field of implantology. In his community work, he founded the first free clinic for the homeless in San Francisco, worked very early on in the Civil Rights Movement, and became a docent at the California Academy of Sciences. Above all he loved his family. Sanford is survived by his sons, Kim and Mark; his daughters-in law, Maureen and Vicky; his grandchildren, Fernando, Samuel, Julian, Joel and Sebastian; his brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Virginia; and his nephews, Craig and Richie. Our family is grateful to Darlene, Keisha, Sandra, Toni, Theresa and, above all, to Doris for lovingly caring for both Ruth and Sanford. Friends and family are invited to attend Memorial Services on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at noon at the Sunset View Cemetery in El Cerrito.