Dr. Gerald Joseph Maher DMD's Obituary
Dr. Gerald Joseph Maher, DMD, died peacefully, March 10, 2023, after a long battle with cancer. Beloved husband to the late Martha J.(Sheehan) Maher and present wife Elizabeth G. Montgomery Maher, he was a devoted father to Tracy A. Fowler of Maynard and Daniel T. Maher of Dedham, and stepfather to Kristian M. Pedersen of Wallingford, VT and the late Kurt R. Montgomery of Spring Hill, FL. Loving grandfather to 11 grandchildren, Ian Fowler, Adam Fowler, Will Fowler, Cooper Maher, Taylor Place, Madeline Pedersen, Logan Montgomery, William Pedersen, Jonathan Pedersen, Robert Pedersen and Mary Pedersen. Brother to Mary Ellen (Maher) White of Rutland, MA, he is also survived by many nieces and nephews and his beloved dog and companion, Chia.
Gerry was born December 23, 1946 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton to Joseph P. and Alice G. Maher, and grew up in Dedham. In 1953, Gerry came down with encephalitis and was treated at St. Elizabeth's Hospital.
In 1954, at the age of 7, Gerry started taking Irish step dancing lessons with Mrs. Moran in Central Square Cambridge. He competed in step for 8 years and won 13 medals at Feis (Irish dance competitions). Gerry finished 4th in the country at Philadelphia in 1959. He was beaten by Ed Irwin and in later years became his Dentist for 30 Years!
Gerry attended B.C. High (1960-1964) where he competed in cross country and track, then attended Holy Cross College (1964-1968) where he participated in Rugby and wrestling for 4 years. He graduated with a degree in pre-med in 1968. During these college years, he worked summers for the Cedar Hill Landscaping company.
Gerry married his high school sweetheart, Martha Sheehan on November 22, 1969 and they had a son and daughter together. He met Martha in Marshfield where he spent summers starting in 1951. Martha passed away August, 8, 2001 after 32 years of marriage. On July 3, 2003 Gerry was blessed again to marry Elizabeth Graves Montgomery on the beach in front of their home, and they were happily married until his death.
Gerry attended Tufts Dental School (1969-1972) where he was class secretary. He graduated from Tufts in May, 1973 and began his dental career with Pat Morrissey and Dave Burke at Peabody Square, Ashmont Station from 1973-1976.
Gerry taught at Massasoit community college, 1996-2016 in the Dental assisting program. He also taught at Quincy College, 2017-2018 in the Nursing program. He opened his own practice in South Weymouth in 1976 while working for Dr. Paul Corrado in Danvers. He practiced in Weymouth until 2009 when he sold his practice due to a diagnosis of Leukemia.
Gerry was granted a fellowship from the American Academy of Facial Pain in 1986 and was the first dentist in New England to be awarded this honor. He served as the team Dentist for the New England Patriots from 1980-2019 and was awarded 4 Super Bowl rings, 2003, 2014, 2016, 2018!
Gerry worked with Marvin Hagler to create a mouth guard to help prevent concussions, and made mouth-guards for world champion boxers Drake Thadzi, Irish Steve Collins, Adolpho Washington and Jimmy Ellis. Gerry's patented design utilized TMJ principles to reduce incidents of concussion. He published 2 articles on his statistics and findings and lectured throughout the United States on TMJ diagnosis and treatment. Boxers and football players, including many New England Patriot players, wore Gerry's TMJ designed mouth guards. He lectured throughout the United States on TMJ diagnosis and treatment.
Gerry taught eighth grade math and ninth grade science in Marshfield High School, 1968-1969, and was responsible for starting the wrestling program at Marshfield High School. He served as Chairman of the Board of Health in Marshfield for 33 years, from 1986-2019 and also coached Marshfield Youth Baseball 1982 to1993. He was an avid Golfer and a member of Marshfield Country Club from 1956-2015.
An avid runner, Gerry ran with the Marshfield Road Runners for 10 years, 1975-1986, and ran 18 marathons; his slowest was time 3.56 and fastest was 2.57. He won first place in a race at Stonehill college where he was presented a trophy by The Marvelous Marvin Hagler, with whom he became his dentist and lifelong friends.
Upon retirement, Gerry and Elizabeth moved to Florida and lived first in Boynton Beach before moving to Palm Coast. Gerry loved his Florida home and pool.
Gerry lost his battle to cancer on March 10, 2023 after fighting it for years. His wishes were to be cremated and his ashes buried next to Martha, with a private ceremony at a later date, in the Couch Cemetery of Marshfield. Donations in his memory may be made to Marshfield Community Christmas, his favorite charity, by mail to P.O. Box 713, Marshfield MA 02050.
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