Richard W. (Dick) Plymale, DDS, of Davison, Michigan age 70, passed away Wednesday, May 13, 2009 of complications from congestive heart failure.  Richard was born in Detroit, MI on November 17,1938, married Janice K. Ruppal in Ann Arbor and  practiced family dentistry in Davison for 42 years after graduation from the University of Michigan Dental School (class of 1970) and service in the U.S. Navy Dental Corp.  Dick was known among his colleagues and friends for his enthusiasm and innovative ideas for preventive and restorative dental resins.  He was a rare individual who, in addition to a full time practice as a visiting dentist, also maintained an active R&D lab and company, MAYPEL Inc, where he did all of the research and development work himself.  Dick was a member of the Academy for Plastics Research in Dentistry, which he convinced Dr. Evan Greener, FADM, to re-incorporate as the Academy of Dental Materials in 1983.  He held several patents that resulted from his research efforts, US Patent 3,882,600, 1975; 3,997,504, 1976; 4,968,779, 1990; and PCT/US2008/085067, but rarely published or presented his research work.  J Mich State Dent Assoc. 1965 Oct;47(10):290-3 was his first, and his last was presented in Miami in April, 2009 (http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2009miami/webprogram/Paper120862.html).

Richard is survived by his wife of 45 years, Janice Plymale; sons, Bradley (Kiersten) Plymale, Kevin (Heidi) Plymale; grandchildren, Alec, Kate, Zachary, Ezra, and Eliza.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Flint, MI (www.fpcf.org).