James L. Dannenberg, retired dentist, former Penn professor, and ardent volunteer, has died at 97

James L. Dannenberg, 97, of Philadelphia, retired dentist, former professor of endodontics and pediatric dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania, ardent volunteer, conservationist, and veteran, died Sunday, Dec. 17, of a perforated colon at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Over a career that spanned five decades, from 1949 to 1999, Dr. Dannenberg saw countless dental patients in his Center City office, rushed to emergency jobs at homes and elsewhere, and served as a stateside military dentist during the Korean War. He became an expert on children’s teeth and was affiliated for years with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

He wrote scholarly papers and articles about pedodontic endodontics, the dangers of mercury in the dental office, and related topics in the Journal of Dental Research and other publications. He said in a 1974 issue of Dental Clinics of North America: “In any health profession, maintenance of health and prevention of disease or trauma is superior to remedial therapy.”

He was a member of the American Board of Endodontics, American College of Dentists, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and the Omicron Kappa Upsilon honor society. In the 1970s, he traveled with his wife, Dena, and others to remote southern Mexico and volunteered to treat indigenous people. “He always put his patients first,” said his son David.

At Penn’s School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Dannenberg taught children’s dentistry and focused on clinical instruction one day a week for 50 years. A natural teacher and collaborator, he made personal connections easily and told the Pennsylvania Gazette, Penn’s alumni magazine, that he tried to demonstrate “the personal satisfaction that comes with successful hard work” for his students.

His family owned a small farm in Upper Dublin when he was young, and Dr. Dannenberg learned to appreciate nature and conservation. He went on to become a volunteer agricultural mentor at W.B. Saul High School in Roxborough for 20 years, and his family endowed a support fund in his name for the Virginia-based Student Conservation Association.

He embraced the “reduce, reuse, recycle ethos before it was a marketing tool,” his daughter Ann said. His son said: “He recognized the importance of the natural world.”

James Loeb Dannenberg was born May 25, 1926, in Philadelphia. His father was a pediatrician, and he was a teenager during World War II.

He grew up in Center City, roamed the wilds of Maine at summer camp, and graduated from Friends Central School. He earned his dental school prerequisites at Pennsylvania State University and graduated from Penn’s School of Dental Medicine in 1948.

He enlisted in the Army after Penn and served two years stateside as a military dentist. He married Dena Jacobson in 1952, and they had daughters Ann and Dara, and son David. They lived in Germantown at first and moved to West Mount Airy in 1958.

Dr. Dannenberg liked to bike, hike and fish with family and friends in the Adirondack Mountains. One summer, he built his own sailboat in the living room.

The family walked often near the Wissahickon Creek on Sundays, and he and his son spent memorable afternoons together taking on household projects. “He got satisfaction from doing things himself,” his son said.

He was interested in anthropology, history, gardening, jewelry making, and photography. He supported the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern and helped friends meet educational financial obligations. He also inspired and encouraged his niece to become a dentist.

He wrote letters to the editor of The Inquirer and Daily Pennsylvanian about diversity, inclusion, and parents’ responsibilities in schools. His constant refrain, his son said, was “to respect other people and their skills and attributes, and to treat them well and with courtesy and compassion.”

In 2014, Dr. Dannenberg told the Pennsylvania Gazette: “At 87, I am satisfied with the life I have led and continue to lead. I have been rewarded by the respect of my colleagues, my patients, a loving wife, children, and grandchildren.”

His daughter Ann said: “Family and friends were passions of his. That, and the natural world, were what made his heart sing.”

In addition to his wife and children, Dr. Dannenberg is survived by six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

Services are to be held later.

Donations in his name may be made to the Student Conservation Association Dannenberg Family Fund, 1310 N. Courthouse Rd., Suite 110, Arlington, Va. 22201.