Dr. Ponzani

Dr. Joe Ponzani was born on April 5, 1930 in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and died December 31, 2003 in Rome, Italy while traveling with his family in celebration of his 50th wedding anniversary. He was a son of the late Pasquale and Carmella Santini Ponzani. He attended Ohio State University where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1952, and continued on at OSU to complete his Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 1956. He married Esther Failoni on September 13, 1953 in Uhrichsville. Upon completion of his DDS, he served as a captain in the US Army Corp for 2 years, at the NATO SETAF in Italy. He returned to Cadiz and set up his private dental practice in 1958, and continued here until his retirement in 2000. He was selected as a Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry. He was a life member of the American Dental Association and the Ohio State Dental Association. He was an honorary member of the Pierre Fauchard Dental Association. He was a Past President of both the Ohio State Dental Association and the Christian Dental Association. He was a member of Scott Memorial Methodist Church in Cadiz, where he served on many committees and was the Lay Leader. He was a past delegate to Jurisdictional Conference and the East Ohio Conference. Throughout his many years of service, he was extremely involved with dental missionary work. His first mission trip was to the Nootka Mission in Vancouver, British Columbia where he provided dentistry to the Nootka Indians. He took several mission trips to Guatemala to provide dentristry to the country's indigents, and taught as an honorary professor at the University of Guatemala. He also made a recent mission trip with his son Timothy to Moldova to provide dentristry to several orphanages. After retirement, he continued his mission work on the Holland America cruise line as a ship's dentist, providing dental work to many of the crew who had never had any dental care. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Esther: 3 children - Michael Joe and spouse Terri of Columbus, Ohio; Lisa Lejeune of Houston, Texas; and Timothy Joel and spouse Sharon of Woburn, Massachusetts. He has 6 grandchildren: Michael Scott Ponzani, Skye Elissa Ponzani, Tiffany Kaye Neer and spouse Chad Neer, Alysa Nicole Lejeune, Colin Joseph Ponzani and Caitlyn Janice Ponzani. He is also survived by his brothers Ike of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, David of Canton, Ohio, Dan of St. Clairsville, Ohio and his sister Argentina Rigby of St. Clairsville, Ohio. Friends may call Tuesday, January 6, 2004 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at Clark-Kirkland Funeral Home, 172 S. Main St., Cadiz, Ohio. A private funeral service will be held at the convenience of the family. Interment will be in Cadiz Union Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, rememberance donations may be sent to the Ohio State University College of Dentistry- Joe Ponzani Scholarship Fund for Dental Missionaries, Box 195, 305 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210-1241. The Memorial Guest Book may be signed at www.clark-kirkland.com