William M. Harper; Dentist
William M. Harper, an orthodontist in the San Fernando Valley for 44 years, has died in Encino. He was 71.
He began practicing dentistry in Sherman Oaks with his brother, Dr. Thomas Harper III, in 1946. Two years later, they relocated to a Van Nuys Boulevard address, where Harper stayed until opening an office on Ventura Boulevard in Encino in the mid-1980s.
He died July 5 of a heart attack, said his son, Bill Harper.
Born Aug. 29, 1918, in Trinidad, Colo., he attended the University of Colorado and graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Dentistry in 1941. He delayed practicing dentistry so he could model for two years in New York, posing for department store ads and military recruitment posters. Harper served in the U.S. Navy as a dentist from 1943 to 1946.
Afterward, he moved to California to start his practice. He was a longtime member of the Orthodontic Society and the Sherman Oaks Rotary Club.
He is survived by sons Bill Harper Jr. and John T. Harper of West Los Angeles; a daughter, Joan M. Edwards of Belvedere, Calif.; a brother, Dr. Thomas Harper III of Sherman Oaks; and three grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Pierce Brothers Mortuary, 1218 Glendon Ave., Westwood, which is handling the arrangements.
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