Dr. Heber Thomas Graver, 92, BS, DDS, Ph.D., died peacefully April 29, 2023. He was the husband of Lois Elaine (Greiss) Graver for 66 years. Born in Bath, he was the son of the late Heber Stanley and Lulu Irene (Graver) Graver.

He received his undergraduate education at Muhlenberg College, graduating summa cum laude in 1952. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in 1956 and received the prestigious Alpha Omega Memorial Award for the graduate with the highest-class average.

He had a long and distinguished career spanning military dental service, private practice, research and education. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving honorably from 1956 to 1958, leaving to launch and run a private dental practice in Topton from 1958 to 1968. He left private practice to further his studies and transition to academia. He earned a doctorate in developmental biology in 1972 from the University of Pennsylvania graduate school. His academic and research career (1968 to 1998) as associate professor of restorative dentistry and histology-embryology and as director of operative dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine led to the publication of numerous scholarly research articles and the training of over 3,000 dentists.

He was a member of the American Dental Association, The Academy of Operative Dentistry, the American Academy of Dental Research, the Dental Alumni Society of the University of Pennsylvania (Silver Anniversary Club), the Omicron Kappa Upsilon honor dental society, the Matthew Cryer Honor Society and an honorary member of the Academy of Stomatology of Philadelphia.

He was a longtime member of Wentz’s United Church of Christ, Lansdale. He enjoyed reading, photography and gardening. His true passions were his grandchildren and traveling in the United States and abroad.

He is survived by his wife; sons, Jeffrey (Bill), of Malvern, Jay (Susan), of San Antonio, Texas; grandchildren, Hunter (Monica), of Chicago, Ill., Elizabeth, of Houston, Texas, Tyler, of San Francisco, Calif., Ethan, of Pittsburgh. He was predeceased by a sister, Mary Ann.

Contributions may be made in his memory to the church.

Family will receive friends for his viewing 1 to 1:45 p.m. May 3 at Wentz’s United Church of Christ, 3246 Skippack Pike, Lansdale. The public funeral service will take place 2 p.m. at the church May 3. Funeral arrangements were made by the R.L. Williams Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. of Skippack.