William Jacob Jasper

Dr. William Jasper died in his home Sunday, August 7, 2011. He was the son of the late Samuel Jasper and Leona Frank Jasper Weber and the step-son of the late Otto L. Weber. His sister, Henrietta Jasper Fleischer, predeceased him.

Born in Wilkinsburg, PA on May 7, 1925, he was raised in Pittsburgh. During WWII, he served in the Navy V-12 College Training Program at Bucknell University, Bainbridge (MD) Naval Training Center, and obtained his DDS from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry in 1949. He was later inducted into both the International & American Colleges of Dentistry.

During his Navy career he served at 12 shore establishments including overseas time in Taipei, Taiwan. He also served aboard two aircraft carriers, both as a dental officer and acting Jewish lay leader - USS Antietam (CV-36) during the Korean War and was a member of the 1955 commissioning crew of USS Forrestal (CVA-59). Following 20 years of active service he retired in 1966 with the rank of Commander. His Navy awards & decorations included Combat Action Ribbon for service during the Korean War.

In 1967 he earned a Master’s Degree in dental public health at UNC-Chapel Hill and completed a dental public health residency with the NC Health Dept. in 1968. Following a series of administrative & teaching positions in the field of public health dentistry, in the U.S. and in Israel, he retired from teaching in 1980 and moved to Raleigh.

Active in Naval and veteran affairs, he was a long-time member of the Wake County Veterans Council and in 1994 was named Veteran of the Year. He belonged to numerous Naval, Masonic, veteran, and other professional organizations. In 1959 he proposed & helped initiate the establishment of the first permanent Jewish Chapel to be named in honor of Commodore Uriah Levy, USN at the Norfolk Naval Station. In 1998 he organized and coordinated the awarding of Scottish Rite Youth Leadership medals and certificates to outstanding Junior ROTC cadets throughout the Piedmont area of North Carolina.

He is survived by his loving wife, Retha F. Jasper, daughter Noreen J. Berger and son-in-law CDR Steven M. Berger USN, Ret., and their children, Justine and Carson; son Dr. Warren J. Jasper and daughter-in-law Annette F. Jasper, and their children Samuel and Kyra. He is also survived by his nephew Stuart F. Fleischer and niece Susan F. Tivoli.

Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a contribution be made to a charity of choice