ANTHONY F. POSTERARO

Anthony F. Posteraro, A.B., D.D.S., F.A.C.D., a long time resident of Larchmont and a loyal son of Xavier, "passed in review” for the last time on December 31, 2006 after a long battle with cancer. He was born in NYC on December 5, 1915 to Vincent and Connie.

Dr. Posteraro received his A.B. degree from Fordham College in 1939, and his D.D.S. degree in 1943 from St. Louis University College of Dentistry. He served in the South Pacific Theater during World War II. His tour of duty included long stations on Saipan and Tinian. Dr. Posteraro returned to the practice of dentistry in Manhattan and received a certificate in periodontia at New York University in 1952. Dr. Posteraro did postgraduate studies in oral roentgenology, oral surgery and anatomy. He studied pathology of oral lesions at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and oral cancer at Columbia University.

He began an academic career as an instructor in Periodontia at New York University College of Dentistry in 1952, and continued teaching at New York University through 1987, attaining the rank of Clinical Associate, Professor of Periodontics. He was a postgraduate lecturer in Periodontology and Oral Medicine in the Spanish language at New York University College of Dentistry from 1955 to 1959. He was on the staff of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary from 1952 to 1956.

Dr. Posteraro was the author of many scholarly papers in the field of periodontia and dentistry and was especially proud of a compilation of the complete writings of William Geis. He remained on the faculty of New York University while in the practice of periodontia in Manhattan. He was a member of the American Dental Association, a member of the American Academy of Periodontology, a fellow of the American College of Dentists, a member of Omicron Kappa Epsilon Honor Society, Sigma Psi, and Delta Sigma Delta Honor Societies. He was a member of the Northeastern Society of Periodontists, the American Association of University Professors, a fellow of the New York Academy of Dentistry, the Pierre Fouchard Academy, the Federation Dentiere Internationale, and a charter member of the 1852 Society at Columbia University School of Oral and Dental Surgery. He helped institute a postgraduate study in periodontia for Spanish speaking dentists from Central and South American, after learning to speak and read Spanish fluently.

Dr. Posteraro was extremely active in dental organizations and served on many committees for the local, and state, and national dental societies. He was president of the First District Dental Society in Manhattan, president of the Dental Society of the State of New York, and active in the American Dental Association.

Dr. Posteraro was one of seven children of early Italian immigrants and first generation citizens of the United States. His family never forgot the opportunities that the United States gave them, while never forgetting the magnificence of their Italian heritage. We fondly remember lively discussions around the table, during which he would frequently take alternate sides of an argument, in the interest of stimulating logic, reason, and intellectual thought and analysis.

Dr. Posteraro graduated from Xavier High School in Manhattan, to which he always remained loyal. It provided, he said, the foundation for his entire life. This is a sentiment shared by his sons, who followed him in that institution. Dr. Posteraro was above all a believer in the value of a strong educational foundation.

Dr. Posteraro was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Lygia Paganelli Posteraro. He is survived by three sons, Anthony Posteraro Jr., M.D., Robert H. Posteraro, M.D., M.B.I., and David Posteraro, Esquire, two daughters-in-law, Catherine H. Posteraro, and Julie Barth Posteraro, two grandchildren, Anthony F. Posteraro III, M.D., and Christopher Clark Posteraro, Esquire, and a great-grandson, John Jeffrey Posteraro.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday, January 6 from 9-10 am. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30 am at Sts. John & Paul Church in Larchmont. Interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne at 12 noon. His family requests that in lieu of flowers or remembrances that donations be made in his name to the Saint Francis Xavier High School Development Fund, 30 West 16th Street, New York, New York 10011-6302 (www.xavierhs.org).

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