Wilma E. Motley, dental historian, trustee, editor and two-term president of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, died Sept. 25 at the age of 92.
She was an honorary member of the ADA.
Ms. Motley graduated from the University of Southern California dental hygiene program in 1933 and worked with her husband, Dr. William G. Motley, a 1934 USC dental graduate, in his Sherman Oaks, Calif., practice for 29 years. In addition, she was a part-time faculty member at USC’s School of Dentistry between 1959 and 1974. In 2000, she was inducted into USC’s School of Dentistry Hall of Fame.
During her career, she wrote three editions of the textbook "Ethics, Jurisprudence and History for Dental Hygienists," as well as "History of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association: 1928–1983."
She served as president of the Southern California Dental Hygienists’ Association, the American Academy of the History of Dentistry, the American Association of Dental Editors and the International Federation of Dental Hygienists, and was a trustee of the American Fund for Dental Health.
Her lifetime contribution to dentistry, particularly the history of dentistry, was recognized with the 1996 Hayden-Harris Award from the American Academy of the History of Dentistry. She received the William J. Gies Editorial Award from the American Association of Dental Editors for her 1975 editorial titled "A Cry in the Wilderness."
She is survived by her daughter Carol Martin and son William G. Motley II, numerous grandchildren and longtime friend Berton McCauley.
