Dentist grinning after 6 decades

LAYTON — Roger Felt always dreamed of becoming a dentist, but the U.S. government had something else in mind.

When the World War II vet returned to Utah in 1945 and signed up for a military scholarship at the University of Utah, officials decided that aptitude tests showed he was better suited for a career in bookkeeping.

They might as well have asked Felt to spend four years watching paint dry.

"I was bored beyond belief," Felt recalls today. "Because the military was paying for my education, I didn't have much say. Yes, I was grateful for the opportunity to go to college. But I was pretty miserable."

Luckily for Felt, he has an identical twin brother to look out for him.

Upon seeing his brother's dreams crushed, Rodney Felt decided to interview for a job as a dental lab assistant in Salt Lake City and was quickly hired. He immediately phoned Roger with the good news:

"I'm supposed to show up for work on Monday," said Rodney, "but I'm not going. You are."

If you'd told Roger then that he'd still be on the job six decades later, working side by side with his wife, Geraldine, after graduating from dental school, the oldest in his class, "I'd never have believed it," he says. "But after so many years, I've learned that when you find something you enjoy, it's best to keep on going."

Now 86, Felt specializes in denture work, a craft that requires excellent vision and a steady hand with a delicate touch.

He and Geraldine, 85, who helps him at his office in Layton, are believed to be the oldest dental team in Utah, a feat that their son, Eric, a dentist in Murray, thought was worth celebrating. He suggested that I get together with his parents on their lunch break to hear the story of how they've devoted their lives to caring for thousands of patients from Ogden to Cedar City.

The Felts met me at the Imperial Dragon cafe across the street from their office to share a few stories and dig into plates heaped with chicken chow mein and ham-fried rice.

The couple met at Lehi High School, when Geraldine was rehearsing for a play after school and caught Roger's eye. "He came over to sell me a yearbook and get my name," she says, "and before I knew it, we were on our first date."

Today, the Felts still celebrate the anniversary of that date (Jan. 16, 1940) by watching a DVD of "A Thousand Dollars a Touchdown," the movie they went to in downtown Payson.

Now married 67 years, with eight children and 52 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, "there's still a spark there," says Geraldine. "We really enjoy being together."