Dr. John Sanders “Sandy” Pike, a resident of Lenbrook Health Care Center for the last two and one half years, died peacefully at his residence, on Monday, August 27, 2012, after an extended illness. Sandy was born in St. Charles (Moreland), in Coweta County, Georgia, on November 6, 1927. He was the oldest son of Mary Frances Powledge and James Sanders Pike. He attended Moreland High School and graduated from Georgia Military Academy (Woodward Academy), College Park, Georgia in 1944. He graduated from Emory University in 1948 with a degree in Biology and was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity and the Glee Club. After graduation he taught for a year at GMA before entering Emory University School of Dentistry. In dental school he was a member of Xi Psi Phi Dental Fraternity. Following graduation from dental school in 1953, he entered the United States Navy Dental Corps with the rank of LTJG. He served on the U.S.S. Bennington until his discharge in 1955. On December 21, 1954, he married the love of his life, his longtime girl friend, Mary Elizabeth Upshaw, of Atlanta, Georgia. For over fifty years, they celebrated their wedding anniversary at The Greenbrier, in White Sulfur Springs, WV, the place where they had spent their honeymoon. After being discharged from the US Navy in 1955, he enrolled in graduate school at the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry, where he received a Masters Degree in Pedodontics (pediatric dentistry) under Dr. Ralph L. Ireland. In 1957, he joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry in Chapel Hill, NC as associate professor of Pedodontics. He also had a private practice for four years in the Intramural Clinic of the School of Dentistry. In 1961, he and Mary moved to Atlanta and he began his private practice with his wife, Mary, at his side as his assistant. He also taught part time at the Emory University School of Dentistry. After practicing for 47 years, they retired in 2008. Sandy and Mary lived for 44 years in their restored 1788 house that they moved from the square in Washington, Georgia, in 1966 to Marietta, Georgia. He was a life long member of Moreland United Methodist Church and was an associate member of the French Protestant (Huguenot) Church of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a member of the Piedmont Driving Club, the American Dental Association, the Georgia Dental Association and the American College of Dentistry. He was a member and past president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the Georgia Society of Dentistry for Children and the Southeastern Society of Pediatric Dentistry. He was an honorary member of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina and the Huguenot Society of Georgia. He was predeceased by his parents and brothers, Harry Richard Pike, Thomas Sibley Pike and James Donald Pike. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Elizabeth Upshaw Pike and many nieces, nephews and cousins. The family wishes to thank all of the many health care professionals who took such wonderful care of Sandy on the 3rd floor of Lenbrook Health Care Center, and at Piedmont Hospital, over the last two and one half years. A very special thank you goes to Ms. Kathleen Mwangi Parker and Mr. Julius Kanuhi, for their kindness, love, devotion and special care they gave Sandy, at his home in Marietta and at Lenbrook. A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, September 7, 2012 at 10:30 AM in the Abbey Chapel at Westview Cemetery, 1680 Westview Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, with burial immediately following. A collation will follow, back at Lenbrook in the Event Center, 3747 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30319. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Moreland United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 156, Moreland, Georgia 30259; the University of Nebraska Foundation, College of Dentistry Museum Fund 2056, 1010 Lincoln Mall # 300, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508; the French Protestant (Huguenot) Church, 44 Queen Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401 or the charity of your choice.
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