Memorial Service Honors Slain Dental Branch Student, Aug. 22
HOUSTON—(Aug. 23, 2007)—More than 350 students, faculty and staff from The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston gathered Wednesday, August 22, 2007, at a memorial service to celebrate Mina Rosenthal-Eames’ life as a student, mother, family member and friend.
Rosenthal-Eames, 31, was in her second year as a dental student when she was gunned down Aug. 20 by her estranged husband. It was a violent, tragic end to a beautiful life – a life classmates and faculty say inspired them all.
“Mina, who was committed to improving the oral health of others and mentoring her classmates along the way, graced our halls for too short a time,” said Catherine M. Flaitz, dean of the UT Dental Branch. “We know that she is smiling down on all of us at this memorial service, and she has a very special smile in her heart for the Class of 2010.”
Flaitz announced that an endowed fund, which will support dental care for at-risk women and children in the community, will be established in Rosenthal-Eames’ name. Students, faculty, staff and alumni already have offered help to create the gift in her memory.
“We feel the care provided by this fund will represent the spirit of Mina as a compassionate professional, and it will be a permanent reminder of her in the days and years to come,” Flaitz said.
As music played in the background, Dwight Peccora, president of the Class of 2010, and Holly Pavlick, class vice president, described Rosenthal-Eames as sincere, confident, gifted and driven.
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The two class officers read comments from students who had shared thoughts and stories about Rosenthal-Eames. “Mina will always be a true credit to our class and to our profession,” one student wrote. “She brought a real passion and desire to the study of dentistry. Highly talented in every regard, she exhibited the most sincere actions of kindness and generosity to all.”
Students described Rosenthal-Eames as a mentor who always took the time to help her fellow classmates, whether it was studying biochemistry concepts or teaching them dental techniques, such as how to “wax up the dreadful No. 7” or “put on a matrix band.”
“She helped me study and always had little tricks for remembering things,” one classmate wrote. “She always was willing to help me in gross lab, and anytime we were confused, she always took the time to show us over and over until we got it, without any hesitation or complaint.”
Rosenthal-Eames’ classmates lit six candles to represent her roles as a student, devoted mother of two sons, family member, friend, professional, volunteer and caregiver. Afterward, faculty members who taught Rosenthal-Eames during her first year of dental school spoke about her love of dentistry.
The Flower
In loving memory of
Mina Rosenthal-Eames
It asked little of the world:
a tiny clump of soil
for its roots; a breath of wind;
a splash of sun; a shower.
Does it matter that it
danced a waltz of hours
and then was gone?
Or that it graced
our eyes and hearts
with vivid petals,
a hue we’d never
seen before and would never
see again, a hue too bright
to ever be forgotten?
by Larry D. Thomas
2008 Texas State Poet Laureate
“She had a gift,” said Robert Dosch, D.D.S., associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry. “She would have been a fantastic dentist. I know a good dentist when I see one.”
Gary Frey, D.D.S., assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry, said, “She came to this school with a passion for dentistry. She worked hard. She studied. She practiced. She did everything we could ever ask of a student.”
Rosenthal-Eames, who worked as a dental assistant while attending college, had aspirations of becoming an orthodontist. “This is the place that she wanted to be at to make her life blossom,” Rosenthal-Eames’ cousin, Shelli Stewart, said. “This was her dream – to be a dentist.”
Rosenthal-Eames was the first graduate of the Undergraduate Medical Academy at Prairie View A&M University, a program created to encourage African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians to pursue healthcare careers.
"This is what I'm passionate about," Rosenthal-Eames said, referring to the health care profession during an interview published Dec. 27, 2004 in the Houston Chronicle. "It really makes a difference in people's lives. I know I have to be on top of everything. It's very competitive."
“I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I wasn't aware of issues going on in the medical field,” she said. “You don't want to be just a straight-A student. I think the students who come out of this program will be able to give the best quality of care for their patients. I feel like I will be better prepared than my competition."
Stewart said her cousin was determined and prepared to handle any challenge, whether it was college, dental school or family issues. “Mina would say, `I got this. It’s all good,’” Stewart recalled.
As her relatives and UT Dental Branch family reminisced this week about Rosenthal-Eames’ life, faculty, staff and students at Prairie View A&M University also held services to honor her memory and mourn her loss.
“Mina was an outstanding person, student and mother. The manner in which she balanced her life responsibilities should serve as a template for all nontraditional students. Mina exemplified the academic excellence that is expected of all our students at the Undergraduate Medical Academy, of which she was a charter member and the first graduate. Her peers held her in high esteem as her leadership abilities placed her in a position to always assist her fellow students with their academic and life challenges,” Prairie View A&M officials said in a prepared statement.
Rosenthal-Eames will be remembered for her caring spirit and beautiful smile. Stewart said she also hopes her cousin’s tragic death will create a deeper understanding of issues related to domestic abuse.
Frey said, “Dentistry is going to be a little less bright because she’s not a part of it.” Dosch agreed. In remarks he made after the memorial service, Dosch said, “She was not just talented. She was gifted, and she was always striving to do better than her best. She inspired me, and she should be an inspiration to all of us. If you are facing something negative or trying to overcome a hurdle, use her for inspiration and think of what she would do. Do what would make Mina proud.”
By Meredith Raine, Rhonda Moran and Robert Cahill
Funeral Details for Mina Rosenthal-Eames
The viewing will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at McCoy & Harrison Funeral Home, 4918 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Houston, TX 77021. The funeral service will follow at 1:30 p.m. The family welcomes all. For information, please call 713-659-7618.
Endowment fund to be established in Rosenthal-Eames' memory
At the request of students, faculty, staff and alumni at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, an endowment fund is being created in Rosenthal-Eames’ name to address oral health disparities in at-risk women and children. For information, contact the UT Dental Branch Development Office at 713-500-4386.
Crisis debriefing, grief counseling offered
A crisis debriefing counseling session, which is open to everyone in The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston community, has been scheduled for noon Friday, Aug. 24, in Room 340 at the UT Dental Branch, 6516 M. D. Anderson Blvd.
The open-ended group session, coordinated by Angela Romeo, Psy.D., will focus on how to deal with current and possible ongoing psychological effects of the violence.
Individual counseling sessions also are available. For an appointment, call 713-500-3327 or 713-500-2500.
Condolences
Please send condolences for the family
Cards, letters, poems, pictures, posters, etc., that you wish to have forwarded to the family may be mailed to:
Office of the Dean
The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston
6516 M.D. Anderson Blvd
Houston, Texas 77030