That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much, Who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children, Who has fulfilled his mission and accomplished his task, Who leaves the world better than he found it, Who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.

I am an orthodontist and I have all I can do to keep from wearing a black shirt with yellow letters on the back that say ORTHODONTIST. That is how much I like being one. Many times I have said, “I have enjoyed a career in orthodontics for over 50 years, which has been beyond my wildest dreams, and I cannot wait to get to work in the morning”—even at 82 years of age.

Orthodontics has lost a wonderfully gifted, focused, hard-working, charismatic, and beloved leader. Those of us who intimately knew Jack Dale have lost a dear and irreplaceable friend. He personified enthusiasm, singleness of purpose, artistic genius, and a deep and abiding love for all of God’s creations. He had a gift for encouraging people, and he brought out the very best in everyone with whom he interacted. He practiced orthodontics for over 50 years in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; the last 25 of these years were with his daughter, Hali. He provided exemplary orthodontic treatment, and he had a heartfelt calling to do as much good as he could in this world; therefore, many of the patients who came to him who could not afford treatment were treated for no fee.

Jack attended public school in Beeton, Ontario. He was proud to say that he was allowed to “skip grade 7.” He went to the University of Toronto, where he and his wife, Anne, graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1953. They earned their dental degrees together in 1958, and Jack did a postdoctoral residency in orthodontics at Harvard University from 1958 to 1961. He was a registered specialist in orthodontics in Ontario from 1961 until his retirement in 2014, a professional life span of 53 years.

To list all of Jack Dale’s accomplishments would require books. He served the specialty of orthodontics as president of the following: Toronto Orthodontic Study Club, Ontario Society of Orthodontists, Canadian Association of Orthodontists, Charles H. Tweed International Foundation for Orthodontic Research, Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Orthodontics, Eastern Component of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists, and the American Board of Orthodontics, and also as president and cofounder of the Harvard Society for the Advancement of Orthodontics. He was also a fellow of the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, and the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. He and Anne curated the Dental Museum at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, a 40-year labor of love.

Jack Dale’s list of publications is impressive in number and breadth. His articles were published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics , Italian Journal of Orthodontics , Journal of the Japanese Association of Orthodontists , Alumni Bulletins of the University of Toronto, Journal of the Charles H. Tweed International Foundation for Orthodontic Research , SAO News , Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists News , Romanian Journal of Orthodontics , Chinese Journal of Orthodontics , and World Journal of Orthodontics . He was the contributing author or illustrator for 35 book chapters. As an illustrator of scientific subject matter, he had few peers. His beautiful drawings complement his chapter in Oral Histology Development, Structure and Function , edited by Richard Ten Cate. He created illustrations for a chapter on “Childhood facial growth and development” in a book edited by Donald Enlow, for a chapter on “Interceptive guidance of occlusion with emphasis on diagnosis in Orthodontics: Current Principles and Techniques , 5th Edition, edited by Graber, Vanarsdall, and Vig, and for other books published in Canada, United States, The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. He provided illustrations for booklets and pamphlets published by the American Board of Orthodontics and the American Association of Orthodontists.

He was also a portrait artist and presented beautiful artworks of notable people in dentistry to various organizations. His portrait of Dr Stewart MacGregor, the founder and chairman of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, hangs in the Dental Museum at the University of Toronto. His portraits of Charles Tweed and Levern Merrifield reside in the Tweed Memorial Center. His portrait of Earl Sheppard and the drawing of the Marriott “Hall of Presidents” hang proudly in the office of the American Board of Orthodontics in St Louis. His portrait of Coenraad and Louise Moorrees, which graces the cover of the book that he published as a tribute to Dr Moorrees, is in the Department of Orthodontics at Harvard University.

Jack served as the Canadian editor of the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics ; was on the scientific committee of the Journal De L’Edgewise (Paris, France), the editorial board of Seminars in Orthodontics , and the advisory board of the International Journal of Orthodontics ; and was a guest editor for the Journal of the Imperial Dental Association, Centennial Issue .

Jack traveled to over 25 countries on behalf of orthodontics. He presented 5700 lectures at more than 100 universities and hospitals and over 400 dental associations and societies. These lectures dealt with many topics that mirrored his exceptional talents: the face, growth and development, early treatment, serial extractions, edgewise mechanotherapy, excellence in finishing, long-term stability, patient motivation, self-esteem, and the pursuit of excellence. He also traveled around the world on behalf of board certification. He was instrumental in helping start the French Board of Orthodontics, the Italian Board of Orthodontics, and the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics. He was an articulate advocate for a worldwide standard of care.

Jack received many awards, including the Distinguished Service Award, Canadian Association of Orthodontics; James E. Brophy Distinguished Service Award, American Association of Orthodontics; Distinguished Service Award, Charles H. Tweed Foundation; Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award, the American Board of Orthodontics; Merit Award, Orthodontic Education and Research Foundation; Coenraad F. A. Moorrees Award of Excellence, Harvard Society for the Advancement of Orthodontics; Harvey Peck Memorial Award, Eastern Section of the Edward H. Angle Society; and Ambassador Award, City of Toronto.

Jack Dale was an amazing and special person who generously shared his life and talents with his family, his friends, and our specialty. He worked hard to have a positive impact on all with whom he came in contact. But what singular trait made him so unique to each person who knew him? In my mind, it was his ability to make people feel special and accepted. His enormous capacity to love others enabled him to unconditionally share his mind, skill, and talents with the world.

Jack is survived by 2 daughters, Anne Forsyth Dale and Hali Carlyle Dale, with whom he practiced for 25 years, and his loving, devoted wife, Anne Carlyle Dale, to whom he was married for 64 years. Jack’s wife and daughters have asked that his friends memorialize their husband and father in a unique way: do a good deed for someone in Jack’s name. Help a friend, a family member, a colleague, a patient—or a total stranger—in honor of Jack G. Dale. By doing this, all of us can contribute to Jack’s mission in life—to make the world a better place.