The Edgar A. Honey Award

Edgar A. Honey

The Edgar A. Honey Award was established by the Executive Board of the Kalamazoo Valley District Dental Society in 1969, and presented to Doctor Honey that year in recognition of his outstanding example of excellence and professionalism throughout his long career as a dentist.

Doctor Honey was born in Kalamazoo in 1869 and practiced dentistry in this community for fifty-six (56) years before his retirement in 1976. He passed away in September of 1978 at the age of 82. The Honey family has a history of dedication to the dental professional. His father and five of his brothers were dentists. Among the cousins and uncles of the immediate family could be counted thirty dentists.

To quote from the accolades bestowed on Doctor Honey at the time of the award,

"His high standards in restorative dentistry are not only an inspiration for other dentists but have also had a telling influence on the community-at-large developing an awareness and appreciation for dental service. Doctor Honey has an abiding interest in postgraduate education and a desire to be up-to-date with current practices and procedures. In both his personal and professional demeanor, suffice it to say that he is a gentleman. To those who know him, further comment would be redundant."

The Edgar A. Honey Award has been established in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Kalamazoo Valley District Dental Society. The Award is presented to area dentists who embody the ideals, professional standards, and educational motivation that marked Doctor Honey's career.

Because many of you did not know Edgar Honey personally I thought I might describe something about him as I learned to know him over a period of twenty-five years. As a young man, he graduated from the University of Michigan Dental School during World War I. After spending a short time in the Army Dental Corps at Fort Custer, he came to Kalamazoo, where his Father had had a distinguished career in dentistry before him. To my knowledge, in his more than fifty years of practice, he never compromised his standards and after the age of seventy, he could still cut a delicate and accurate preparation. He was a gentleman and a gentle man. He was always proper – never flamboyant, dignified, quiet, kind, disciplined, and polite. Like all of us, he was not perfect, but he was never given to excesses. He loved golf and although he did not hit a long ball, each shot was 100-125 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. He liked a good story but it seemed uncharacteristic for him to tell one – instead, if stories were being told, he would reach into his pocket and take out some 3 x 5 cards on which stories or jokes were typewritten. Without fanfare, he would pass a card to the person next to him with a slight smile but without comment, and it was understood that they were to pass it around. Everything he did was a measured response. Because of admiration and respect for him, the Edgar A. Honey Award was created and presented to him while he was still practicing and the possibility of its annual presentation was initiated at that time…

James M. Caldwell. 0. D.S.
October 11, 1983

  • 1969 - Edgar A. Honey
  • 1970 - H. Ward Fountain
  • 1975 - Edward J. Hartmann
  • 1976 - Frank A. Heath
  • 1977 - Lamar D. Timmons
  • 1981 - Howard E. Johnson
  • 1982 - James M. Caldwell
  • 1983 - William A. Spencer
  • 1984 - Frederic W. Coggan
  • 1985 - Henry J. Kruska
  • 1992 - John L. Sinclair, Sr.
  • 1993 - George R. Walkotten
  • 1994 - Robert L. Hosack
  • 1994 - Thomas L. Owen
  • 1995 - Raymond H. Malvitz
  • 1996 - Curtis Hood
  • 1998 - Robert J. Tisch
  • 1999 - Mel A. White
  • 2000 - James F. Holtgreive
  • 2002 - James H. Tonn
  • 2003 - David Cooley
  • 2005 - Terry Comar
  • 2006 - Phil Doyle
  • 2010 - John Sinclair, Jr
  • 2013 - William Wright
  • 2014 - Frank Alley
  • 2015 - John Deppen
  • 2016 - Nick Owings
  • 2017 - Murry ("Bud") Malinoski
  • 2022 - S. Jay Bowman
  • 2024 - Larry Bacon