On Sunday, Feb 3, 2013, Dr. James H.S. Simon passed away. Dr. Simon was one of the pioneers of modern endodontics. He dedicated his career to education and was truly an amazing teacher, mentor and friend. I'm grateful for my association with Jim and the things he taught me about endodontics.
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| Dr. Simon (Chief) and his posse at Jackson Hole, WY - Oct 2012 meeting of American College of Endodontists. |
The following bio was provided by Dr. Ilan Rotstein of USC.
Dr. Simon was born in 1934 in Boston. Between the ages of 14-18 he attended
the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, known for its excellence in
education, and graduated from the Academy in 1953. Between the ages of 18-22 Dr.
Simon attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he majored in biology. He spent
the next 4 years in Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia obtaining his
D.D.S degree. Following dental school Dr. Simon spent 2 years at Boston
University School of Medicine where he studied oral pathology and endodontics
with Henry Goldman, Kurt Thoma and Herb Schilder and received his certificate in
endodontics. For the next 3 years he was engaged in a private practice in
Quincy, Massachucetts, where he limited his practice to endodontics. After 3
years of private practice, Dr. Simon joined the Veteran’s Administration in
White River, Vermont, treating endodontic cases and in addition serving
as a research associate at Dartmouth
Medical School in Hanover, New
Hampshire.
In 1968 Dr. Simon
joined the VA Medical Center in Long
Beach, California, in
order to start the first endodontic residency program there. For the next 32
years, Dr. Simon was the Director of the Endodontic Residency Program at the VA
Long Beach where he mentored and trained more than 60 residents. This period of
32 years was the longest full-time teaching program under one director in the
nation. During that period, Dr. Simon also held a part-time teaching position at
USC School of Dentistry where he taught together with Al Frank, Dudley Glick,
John Ingle and others. In 1974, he joined the faculty at Loma Linda School of
Dentistry as part-time faculty. In July 2001, Dr. Simon was recruited to USC
where he served as Professor of Clinical Dentistry and Director of the Advance
Endodontics program. During that time he mentored and trained more than 110
advance endodontic students.
Dr. Simon was a Diplomate of the American
Board of Endodontics, President of the College of Diplomates of the American
Board of Endodontics, Director and President of the American Board of
Endodontics, Fellow of the American College of Dentists and
Fellow of the International College of Dentists. He was member of many
prestigious dental organizations and held leadership positions in the American
Association of Endodontists. Dr. Simon published extensively in the dental and
endodontic literature and in 2005 he received the Louis I. Grossman Award by the
American Association of Endodontists. This most prestigious award is given to an
author for cumulative publication of significant research studies that have made
an extraordinary contribution to endodontics. Dr. Simon was an international
authority in the field of endodontics and used to lecture extensively at
universities and professional meetings in the United States
and throughout the world.
Jim is survived by Helen, his wife of 53 years,
his children Jeffrey, Linda and David, and his grandchildren Alexis, Morgan,
Jake, Jordan and Jason.
