Dr. Donald Rohrer, Dmd

Dr. Albert Donald Rohrer, 100, was born August 28, 1921 in Beckley,West Virginia passed away at his home in Louisville on October 6, 2021 after a brief respiratory illness.

He was born to Albert and Alberta Rohrer and was the oldest of five children. His father was owner of the Hill-Rohrer lumbar company. Dr. Rohrer became interested in dentistry from his hometown dentist Dr. Calloway and after finishing college in West Virginia he travelled to Louisville School of Dentistry graduating in class of 1945. He was drafted into the Naval Dental Corps and had first orders to report to Pearl Harbor. He married Dorothy Wheeler Rohrer in 1945. His first deployment was with a forensic medical team to the island of Tarawa in the South Pacific to repatriate fallen Marines there. He continued service with Naval Reserves and was later called up and stationed at Norfolk during the Korean War. He served in the Naval Reserves until 1969 achieving the rank of Lt. Commander. He needed 6 more months to attain retired status but did not reenlist due to his private dental practice being so busy and successful at the time. He was active with the Masons, Shriners, and Scottish Rite. His forensic dentistry experience with the Navy allowed him an appointment as Deputy Coroner for Jefferson County Louisville, KY Coroner office with Dr. Greathouse. He was the past president of the Louisville Dental Society. He also was a private pilot and enjoyed flying. He also enjoyed gardening growing tomatoes and took classes for gourmet cooking. He retired at age 83 and was a dentist for 60 years. After retiring he missed his office and patients and spent some time volunteering with Smile Kentucky dental exams for young children. He lived at home with his grandson Oliver E. Olson, APRN who cared for him along with his wife Natalia. He was very proud of his Naval Dentistry service and believed it helped him gain valuable experience early in his career learning skills to be fast and proficient as a dentist. This prepared him well for private practice. He attributed his long life to having good oral health, avoiding tobacco use, maintaining a healthy body weight, and eating a varied and balanced diet.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/404121/centenarian-dentist-reflects-career-navy

Dr. Rohrer lived with his family who cared for him and was fortunate to celebrate his 100th birthday on August 28th. He is preceded in death by his parents Albert and Alberta, his sisters Francis and Myrtle, his brother Howard, his three children Albert Owen, Nancy Ellen, and Donald Steven Rohrer, and his wife of 69 years Dorothy Wheeler Rohrer. He is survived by his sister Alberta (Bertie) Dosch, and four grandchildren Hilary N. Olson, Oliver E. Olson, Andrew D. Rohrer, and Stephen S. Rohrer. He has one great-grandson Oleksander O. Olson.

A public memorial service will be held on Sun­day, October 17, 2021 at 5:00 pm at Newcomer Funeral Home, East Louisville Chapel (235 Ju­neau Drive). The family will receive friends from 3:00 pm until the service time on Sunday. All are welcome to attend services. Dr. Rohrer will be laid to rest privately at Cave Hill Cemetery.

The service may be viewed via live stream by clicking here.


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