Houston Dentist Donates $1 Million to UT Dental Branch

Gift is equal to largest donation in school’s 102-year history

Matching dollar-for-dollar the largest donation in the 102-year history of The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, an East Houston dentist has given $1 million toward the school’s planned new facility in the UT Research Park, which broke ground Aug. 30.

Billy Joe “B.J.” Westbrook, D.D.S.

Billy Joe “B.J.” Westbrook, D.D.S., a 1954 graduate of the Dental Branch and a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honor Society, made the donation Sept. 28 individually and on behalf of his late wife, Rosalie Graves Westbrook.

Retired after more than four decades of general dentistry, Westbrook remains a director of Woodforest National Bank, which has more than 400 branches (including 330 branches in Wal-Mart stores) with plans to triple that in two to three years.

As a boy in Electra, Texas, near Wichita Falls, Westbrook never dreamed he’d go to college, much less become a health professional who could help build a new dental school. The Depression and the Dust Bowl colored his childhood. He was working full time by age 12.

“I’m the first one in my family that ever went to college,” he said. “My dad did recognize the value of an education; he never wanted me to miss a day of school ever — but when he talked about finishing school, he meant high school.”

Westbrook’s father worked in the oil fields, and that would likely have been his son’s path, too, if World War II hadn’t intervened.

B.J. Westbrook graduated from high school in 1944 and went to West Texas to work on the drilling rigs until the inevitable draft notice arrived. While en route to his Army assignment in the Philippines, the atomic bombs were dropped – and that changed everything. Suddenly, fewer infantrymen were needed.

“I had a friend I’d been in the Army with since day one, and he’d done one semester in pre-med at The University of Texas in Austin, so (the Army) asked him if he wanted to become a medic,” Westbrook said. “They had intended to put me in the band because I played the trumpet and euphonium in high school, but I asked to go with my friend.”

The Army complied, assigning Westbrook to drive an ambulance. “And that’s how I got into the medical end of things,” he said.

After the war, Westbrook attended The University of Texas at Austin for two years on the GI Bill, transferring to Midwestern University in Wichita Falls after his marriage to Rosalie Graves. He graduated in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, then moved to Houston with his wife to attend dental school.

With his federal benefits exhausted, Westbrook made use of the Texas GI Bill that let veterans attend any state institution for tuition of only $25 per semester. Students still had to pay for their own books, supplies and living expenses, so B.J. and Rosalie both went to work. He drove a city bus before and after classes, and in the summers worked at local oil refineries and for West Texas oil companies.

During his senior year of dental school, Westbrook enlisted in the Air Force. His Army service had lasted 23 months and 19 days–11 days short of the 24 months that would have made him immune to recall. “I volunteered because I didn’t want to start a practice and have to leave,” he said. “But it was a lot more fun to go in as an Air Force officer.”

The Korean War was under way, but Westbrook served in Tucson, Ariz. He was discharged in June 1956 and thought about going to medical school to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, but couldn’t work it out financially. By then, he and Rosalie had a baby.

Instead, in 1957 he opened a practice in the North Shore area of Houston, and except for a four-year stint selling real estate, stocks and bonds, he remained in practice until 1995, working occasionally after that for the dental company that bought his practice.

Today, Westbrook lives in Channelview and has three grown daughters. Rosalie died earlier this year after a lengthy illness.

In deciding to make his $1 million donation to the UT Dental Branch, Westbrook said he wanted to give something back to the school where he learned his profession. “It’s a way of saying thanks for giving me the excellent dental education that made it possible for a boy like me–who grew up in a family of very modest means–to eventually be able to make a significant monetary contribution in return,” he said.

“It’s not that I made a whole lot of money in dentistry,” he added, “but it gave me status in the community and put me in a position to have associations with people who were astute in business. Through these contacts and associations, it was possible for me to make some very good investments.”

Over the years, Westbrook has been active in a variety of civic activities. He was a charter member of the North Shore Rotary Club and a past president of the North Channel Chamber of Commerce. He continues to be a member of the Greater Houston Dental Society.

Looking back on his life, Westbrook believes the GI Bill made dreams possible for veterans who were willing to work hard as students. Without that chance to go to college, “I would probably have worked the rest of my life in the oil fields,” he said.

As a student at the UT Dental Branch, he developed special regard for faculty members Sumter S. Arnim, D.D.S., Ph.D., and Danny D’Anton, D.D.S, as well as former Dean Frederick Elliott, D.D.S.

Westbrook’s million-dollar donation will help pay for a new dental school building to be located in the UT Research Park off Old Spanish Trail in Houston. The project is under way, with the dental building to be finished in 2010.

Dental Branch Dean Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S., said Westbrook’s donation is deeply appreciated.

“We are grateful and honored that Dr. Westbrook has chosen to make this gift to the UT Dental Branch, but we’re not entirely surprised, given his history of making insightful investments,” Flaitz said. “His donation will literally and figuratively open doors to the dental professionals who will be our future graduates, and through them, his lifelong dedication to hard work, honor and service will live on.”

Gregory W. Rashall, D.D.S., president of the Greater Houston Dental Society, got his start in private practice as an employee of Westbrook’s after making a “cold call” to Westbrook’s office shortly after Rashall graduated from the UT Dental Branch.

“Everything I learned about being in private practice, I learned from him,” Rashall said. “Dr. Westbrook was always there to help me and give advice if I wanted it. His examples of both his professional and personal life have influenced me immeasurably, and I am certainly proud of him and his tutelage.”

When Rashall heard of Westbrook’s donation to the dental branch, “I was awestruck,” he said, “but at the same time not all that surprised. That’s just the kind of man Dr. Westbrook is. Now many more young dentists will benefit, as I did, from his kindness.”

Westbrook’s donation is the second $1 million gift to the UT Dental Branch at Houston this year. In August, Arlington orthodontist R.G. “Wick” Alexander, D.D.S., M.S.D., donated $1 million toward the building fund. At the time, it was the largest philanthropic donation in the school’s 102- year history.

These gifts and many others are a part of the Open to Health initiative for the UT Dental Branch, chaired by alumnus Stephen F. Schwartz, D.D.S., with opportunities to support not only the new building, but scholarships, professorial endowments and dental research. For information about any of these and other programs, contact UTDB Development Director John Greer, 713-500-4380.

By Rhonda Moran, Dental Branch