Dr. William Trice Profile
“I am a blessed man.
Dentistry and Erie have
been great to me.”
Mildred and Bill dancing at the 2010 Annual Session festivities.
He was always where the
action was, dressed sharp and
sporting those dark rimmed
oversized glasses. I got up to
leave, shook his hand and said
goodbye, hoping to see him
again soon. He told me to say
hello to my “lovely bride” and
my daughters. That’s Dr. William B. Trice. We all should be
so fortunate to know this man.
“I am a blessed man. Dentistry and Erie have been great to
me. Can you believe a black guy living a dream like this,
Steve? Married (over 60 years) to a PHD?” he asked me. He
said he was proudest of his family (Dr. Mildred, daughters
attorney Sheila Trice Bell and Dr. Angela Trice Borgia and his
grandchildren), serving as PDA president, ADA VP and CLA
chair and of course lecturing all over the world. He made
sure to include delivering the commencement address at
his daughter Angela’s graduation from prep school. I
found this an amazing statement from a man who had
spoken before so many large gatherings of colleagues,
politicians and “students.”
Our time together flew by and he wanted to share one
last story with me. He told me about working in a cement
factory in Weirton, W. Va. as a young man. There were
many older men there who cussed and used bad
language. Bill, wanting to fit in one day decided to do the
same. He said the owner came up to him, pulled him
aside, jacked him up and told he was not like those guys;
he was raised better than that and he needed to get out
there and make something of himself.
Bill and Mildred affectionately call each other “mommy” and
“daddy.” Bill also has taken to calling a few of us in Erie his
“sons.” I, along with Drs. Jim Hissom (a native son of Weirton)
and Andy Kwasny, am privileged to be one of those “sons”
and to consider him one of my mentors. Bill is a force in
our dental community and the community at large.
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2014 at the Hotel Hershey for the President’s Reception.
Dr. Trice flanked by Dr. Steve Radack and Dr. Andy Kwasny.