Dr. William F. Whirl, Class of 1962

Dr. William F. Whirl, 83, a longtime resident of Hermitage, passed away late Thursday evening, March 7, 2024, in St. Paul’s Home, Greenville.

Dr. Whirl was born on April 28, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a son of the late Solomon F. and Mary W. (Lepard) Whirl.

He was a 1958 graduate of Penn Hills High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1962 from Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio. He matriculated at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Dentistry, with a Doctor of Dental Medicine in 1966. At Muskingum College, he belonged to the physics honorary, Sigma Pi Sigma, and the pre-medical honorary, Alpha Epsilon Delta. In 1962, while in dental school, he won the dental school student clinic competition with the topic, “The Mechanism of Tooth Eruption” and presented his program at the national convention of the American Dental Association in Washington, D.C. the following year. In his senior year, he won Best Student Clinic for his presentation “Phonetics in Prosthodontics.” Additionally, he was a member of the well-known dental student singing group, “The Dentones.”

Following dental school, William served two years as a dentist in the U.S. Navy at Yorktown, Virginia. Upon his honorable discharge in 1969, he settled in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

He retired due to health issues in January 1996, after 27 years of dental practice in Hermitage. Dr. Whirl was known for his expertise in endodontics (root canals).

Dr. Whirl was a longtime member of the American Dental Association. He was a delegate to the Ninth District Dental Society for many years and served on the Dental Peer Review Committee in 1977/78. He served in all the chairs of the County Association and was its president in 1978/79.

Dr. Whirl was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Sharon.

He married the former Phyllis Jane Hipsley, of Sharon on December 5, 1964 and she preceded him in death September 9, 2006.

He enjoyed golf and classic cars. He was a member of the Antique Automobile Club of America and its local Shenango Valley Region branch and served on the club’s board of directors.

In addition to his parents and first wife, Dr. Whirl was preceded in death by a son, Barret Whirl.

Year of Muskingum Undergraduate Degree

1962

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 12:00