Arlington Heights dentist served thousands of suburban families
Dr. Frank Schroeder, a longtime dentist in Arlington Heights and former president of the Illinois State Dental Society, has died.
Schroeder provided dental care to thousands of families in Arlington Heights from 1954 to 1999. His son, Dr. Michael Schroeder, took over the practice and ran it until 2016.
Schroeder died Jan 4, less than one year after his son, the former Wheeling Township supervisor and a one-time mayor of Arlington Heights. The elder Schroeder was 93.
"There were very few dentists when he came to Arlington Heights, but as he told me when I was setting up my practice, you needed to look for a community with young families and where they were building schools," says his oldest daughter, Dr. Kathleen Schroeder, who recently retired from her pediatric dentistry practice in Crystal Lake.
Frank Schroeder not only saw his practice grow with Arlington Heights, he helped shape the community. He served as a member of its board of health, the Arlington Heights Mayor's Drug Action Committee and its senior citizen's committee.
At Harper College, Schroeder served on a member advisory committee that planned the school's dental hygiene program, which opened in 1968 and has won numerous awards over the last 50 years.
Schroeder brought a unique background to his practice. After serving three years as a line officer in the Navy during World War II, he spent the next four years as a dental officer in the Air Force, before going into private practice.
While he valued his military service, he always dreamed of opening his own practice and providing care for families, his children said.
"His vision was to have a complete array of dental services for family members, under one roof," said his daughter, Monica Lauerman.
Like her seven siblings, Lauerman worked at one time in her father's practice.
"Being a dentist and giving families access to dental care meant everything to him," Lauerman added.
At the same time, Schroeder immersed himself in state and local dental societies, which regulated the industry and worked to expand access to oral health care. He was involved in the creation of the Northwest Suburban branch of the Chicago Dental Society, which formed in 1972. Over the years, he chaired every committee and also served as president.
His local involvement ultimately led him to serve as president of the Illinois State Dental Society, from 1980-81.
"My dad really believed organized dentistry was the watchdog of the profession," Kathleen Schroeder said, "and that it kept the profession ethical and with the highest of standards."
Schroeder was preceded in death by his first wife, Catherine "Betty" Schroeder, and his son, Michael. Besides his two daughters, he is survived by his wife, Marietta, and children Mark, Joseph (Laura), Laura, Mary (Steve) Henrickson, and Kurt; as well as 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Visitation will take place from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday, at Lauterburg-Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Highway, before a 10 a.m. funeral Mass on Tuesday, at St. James Church, 831 N. Arlington Heights Road, both in Arlington Heights.