Major McKinley Ash, Jr., 85, passed away at Hospice of the Valley, Maricopa PCU, on March 21, 2007, after a battle with cancer. He was born in Bellaire Michigan in April 7, 1921, to Major McKinley and Marguerite (Early) Ash. He and his family moved to Miami at age 4. He began his higher education at Michigan State University before enlisting in the Army Signal Corps. He served as radar technician group leader until seriously injured at The Battle of Bulge. He was awarded the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and the Croix de Guerre for service in the European Theater. His degrees include Doctor of Medicine (Honorary), University of Bern, Switzerland, 1976; University of Michigan (M.S. in Periodontics), 1954; Emery University Dental (D.D.S. – Doctor of Dental Surgery), 1951; Michigan State University (B.S. in Chemistry), 1947; US Army Institute (Cert in Radar), 1944; University of Chicago (Cert in Physics), 1943; Illinois Institute of Technology (EE), 1942. During this time he did field research with the Nubians in Southern Egypt; developed the first miniaturized electronic tooth; mentored over 100 graduate students; was involved in the molding of dental education and research worldwide; became the leading authority in the field of occlusion. He married Fayola Foltz in 1947, had 4 children, and joined the faculty at University of Michigan where he served the University until his death. He is survived by his loving wife, Fayola (Foltz) Ash; children, George McKinley (Jean) Ash, Carolyn Ash Gallaway, Thomas (Rhonda) Ash, and Jeffrey (Deborah) Ash; grandchildren, Andrew (Autum) Lum, Jennifer (Clinton) Cox, Brian (LeAnne) Ash, Betsy (Steve) Finn, and Mark Ash; and great-grandchildren, Cameron Howard and Conner McKinley Lum.

A memorial service will be held at Messinger Mortuary, 7601 E. Indian School Rd., Scottsdale at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, 2007. To honor his memory, contributions may be sent to Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA.org) @ 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC. 28201-0001 or Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014. An additional military memorial service will be held in Michigan at a later date.

Published in The Arizona Republic on Mar. 24, 2007.