Ky.'s oldest working dentist, 97, dies; may have been U.S.'s oldest

Dr. J.M. Stephenson

Julius Middleton Stephenson, who was Kentucky's oldest working dentist, and may have been the oldest in the nation, died May 5 in Bowling Green. He practiced in the Cumberland River town of Burkesville, population 1,500.

Stephenson worked in his office as recently as March. He was a fixture at the state high school basketball tournament well into his 90s, and was secretary-treasurer of the South Central Kentucky Dental Society for 40 years. His son and daughter, who survive, are both dentists.

His funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Burkesville First United Methodist Church with burial in Burkesville Cemetery with military honors. Flowers are welcome, but donations are encouraged to Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia.

Full disclosure: In his youth, the writer of this post was a patient of Dr. Stephenson.