Dr. Franklin Piancentini

Dr. Franklin Piancentini Obituary

Biography

Dr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Piacentini was born at home on S.W. Kelly Street, Portland, on January 30, 1934, 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 for 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, British Columbia 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, during which 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.

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. He was for many years 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 of the Oregon Society of Dentistry for Children. He was a member of the Oregon Orthodontic Research Seminar for all of his years in practice.

Frank was a firm believer in community service, most recently serving as the 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 the 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, Oregon. 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 in 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 travel took Frank and Dorothy to more than sixty countries. His favorite trip was to South Africa and Botswana in June of 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 rubberband guns, inventing board games, and composing long elaborate stories on the spot.

Celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial

Monday August 22, 2011 , 10:00am at Saint Michael’s Catholic Church

Facts Born: January 30, 1934
Place of Birth: Portland, OR USA
Death: August 16, 2011
Place of Death: Portland, OR USA
Occupation: Orthodontist

Survived By Dorothy, Spouse
Frank (Sara), Son
Robert (Liping Tang), Son
Angela (Matthew), Daughter
Zachary, Grandchild
Yi Tang, Grandchild
Frankling, Grandchild
Alexander, Grandchild
Maxwell, Grandchild
Sofia, Grandchild
Gloria, Aunt
Lorraine (Earl), Aunt
many nieces, nephews and cousins Preceded in Death By Carl, Father
Margaret, Mother
Carl, Brother
John, Brother

Services

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One reply on “Dr. Franklin Piancentini”

We are very sorry to hear of Frank’s passing. Both Ron and I have many happy memories of the good times we had in Knights of the Vine. We send our condolences to Dorothy and the rest of the family. Judith