DDS Ashley Harold Sills Jr.

Dr. Harold Sills died Saturday, March 5, 2011. He was born on September 18, 1924, in Gainesville, Texas to Amber Deane West Sills and Ashley Harold Sills, Sr. He was the eldest of his siblings, Billy Sills, Garrett Sills, and Ann Sills Helbert. He graduated from Pottsville High School in 1941 and married Virginia Rea Blom in Comanche, Texas on December 31, 1943. He attended Tarleton State College, where he was captain of the band, and North Texas State Teachers College, where he was a member of Psi Omega fraternity and the Junior American Dental Association. He graduated from Baylor Dental College in 1946 and earned his Bachelor of Science in Dentistry from Baylor in 1953. He later continued his education to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Dr. Sills served in the U.S. military for thirty-five years. He held the rank of captain in the U.S. Army during World War II and served in the dental corps during the Korean War with the U.S. Air Force. When he retired from the Air Force in 1984, he held the rank of Colonel and was the Chief of Dental Service in Temple, Texas. From 1955 to 1982, he was on staff and taught in the Veterans Administration Hospitals in Houston, Texas, Kansas City, Missouri, and Temple, Texas. Committed to the education of members of his profession, Dr. Sills also taught for many years with the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and Baylor University medical branches. Additionally, he became a fellow of the American College of Dentistry in 1967 and was a lifetime member of the Texas Dental Association, receiving commendation for distinguished service and recognition for fifty years of membership in 1996. Over the course of his career, Dr. Sills served on the Missouri Dental Board and American Board of Oral Surgery and was a member of the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons. During his retirement, he, with his wife, was the longtime proprietor of the Red Pineapple Antiques of Hamilton, Texas. He was also a member of Hamilton Historical Society and served as President of Hamilton Cemetery Association. He is survived by three of his four daughters: Ann Stovall-Spencer, June Miser, and Jane Childers. His wife of more than sixty years and daughter, Malinda Lou Escobar predeceased him. He is also survived by his twelve grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren. Visitation will be Friday, March 11 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Riley Funeral Home. Services will be held Saturday, March 12 at 10:00am with military burial following at the Rea Family Cemetery in Pottsville, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice or to the Hamilton General Hospital Healthcare Foundation, P.O. Box 788, Hamilton, TX, 76531.

Arrangements under the direction of Riley Funeral Home, Hamilton, Texas.