Leonard Abrams, One Of The "AKs"
Bill Schenley
http://www.realcities.com/mld/inquirer/news/obituaries/9102089.htm
When Center City periodontist Leonard Abrams, 73, was not biking miles
and miles with a group of his beloved friends who called themselves
the AKs, after a Yiddish term for old-timers, he was scuba diving,
skiing, or teaching and practicing dentistry. Hours after cycling 35
miles, Dr. Abrams died Tuesday of heart failure at Temple University
Hospital.
Philanthropist Stanley Tuttleman, after whom the IMAX theater at the
Franklin Institute is named, said: "Leonard created a new life for me
at 69 when he introduced me to biking in 1989." On weekends, the
friends cycled up to 100 miles together. "I have biked and skied all
over the world with Leonard," Tuttleman said.
Dr. Abrams, internationally known for his talent in full-mouth
reconstruction and periodontics, taught periodontology at Temple
University's School of Dentistry and at the University of Pennsylvania
School of Dental Medicine. He also taught at the Albert Einstein
Medical Center's dental implant center.
A native of Strawberry Mansion, he graduated from Central High School
in 1948. Dr. Abrams was indebted to Temple's dentistry school, "where
a poor boy could go and learn a profession," he said. After his
graduation in 1955, he became one of the best in his field, lecturing
worldwide on "esthetic dentistry" and practicing in Center City.
In 1960, he married Ethel Miller Abrams, whom he met while she was
studying to be a dental hygienist at Temple.
The couple had three children. When their daughter, Michelle Dara
Abrams, died of cancer in 1970, Dr. Abrams, who was a self-taught
artist, commissioned a mural painted by Philadelphia artist Sam Maitin
in her memory at Children's Hospital. When the hospital was renovated,
the mural, named Michelle, was moved to the main lobby of the dental
school building at Temple in 1990.
"Len Abrams was a presence, not just in the profession but in every
aspect of life. He was the personification of elegance, known for his
walking sticks and fedoras, a consummate professional, respected in
academic circles, and a knowledgeable collector of art," Martin F.
Tansy, dean of Temple's dentistry school, said yesterday. "He brought
a special feeling and a touch of class to our alumni gatherings. He
was larger than life."
Dr. Abrams, a founding member and past president of the American
Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and the Delaware Valley Academy of
Osseointegration, coauthored Dental Anatomy and Occlusion, a standard
dental textbook.
Dr. Abrams was the recipient of the Founders' Day Award from Temple's
School of Dentistry and the Alumni Award of Merit from Penn's School
of Dental Medicine. In 2004, he received the Pennsylvania Dental
Association's Recognition Award.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Abrams is survived by sons Joseph and
Jonathan, two granddaughters, and a sister.
A graveside service was held yesterday. A memorial service will be at
1 p.m. Sunday at Adath Israel Temple of the Main Line, Old Lancaster
Road and Highland Avenue, Merion.