Dr. Charles L Bolender

Chuck was born and grew up in Primghar, Iowa. He enrolled at the University of Iowa in September 1950 and it was there that he met Mamie Jane Warnock at a church mixer during orientation week. They were married in 1955, just before Chuck began his senior year in dental school. Together they had 3 children: John, Susan and Jane.

He graduated at the top of his class in 1956 and then completed his graduate training in prosthodontics also at Iowa. Chuck served for two years as a prosthodontist in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Dix, NJ and joined the faculty of the Department of Prosthodontics at the University of Washington. In 1963 he was selected to chair the department. He was able to create a thriving teaching program and assemble a quality faculty who all became the best of friends in and out of the dental school. With Dr. Bolender’s admirable leadership skills and aptitude for forward thinking, he built a formidable part- and full-time faculty at the University of Washington including Dale Smith, Charlie Swoope, Jim Lord, Brian Toolson, Richard Frank, Dave Wands, Tom Taylor and Jeff Rubenstein. For 17 years, he shared a part-time private prosthodontic practice with Academy past presidents Drs. Dale Smith and Jim Lord.

Further demonstrating his vision, in 1983 Chuck was instrumental in establishing 5 regional training centers in the US for the Nobelpharma Implant System. With the help of Swedish colleagues and others, he trained many prosthodontists and oral surgeons in the early years of dental implants.

His academic career included over 200 presentations outside of regular dental school curriculum in over 26 states and 10 countries. His work is widely published in journals and textbooks with his best known book co-authored with George Zarb “Prosthodontic treatment of edentulous patients: Complete dentures and implant supported prosthesis”, a text still being used as a reference in many programs.              

Chuck’s leadership in prosthodontics include presidencies of the Academy of Prosthodontics and Pacific Coast Society for Prosthodontics, and his selection in 1989 as the School of Dentistry’s first Washington Dental Service Distinguished Professor.  His many honors include the “Fred E. Gulick Distinguished Life Member Award” from the PCSP in 2006 and the “Distinguished Service Award” from the AP in 2015.

He was always grateful for his mentors and benefactors, and in turn he was a mentor and life-long teacher to many. He continued to be a positive influence in his profession long after retiring in 2000. Chuck led two Prosthodontic Study Clubs, one in Seattle and the other in Yakima. A tremendous inspiration to us all, was that 18 years after his retirement he was still actively running his Seattle Study Club at 91 years of age. Fellow UW faculty Dr. Andy Mirashi, who helped Chuck operate his study club said that just 2 weeks before his passing at 91.5 years, Chuck was at his study club, sharp, engaged and boundless as ever.

We are thankful for Dr. Bolender’s many contributions, both personal and professional, and we will miss him dearly. He was a mentor and a friend to us all.

With respect and admiration, John Sorensen