Dentistry alumni mark over four decades together since meeting at U of T

In honour of Valentine’s Day, we caught up with Norman A. Orschel 8T2 and his wife, Nancy Orschel, who is a graduate of the dental hygiene program (1977) and has her BSc in Dentistry (1982). The pair met at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry in 1982 and have been together ever since.  

How did you meet?

Nancy and I met toward the end of my fourth year of the DDS program which was also her second and final year of the Bachelor of Science in Dentistry program in February 1982. At the time, there were close to 128 students in my Dents 8T2 class and only six hygienists in the BScD program. I wanted to bring a date to our graduation semi-formal at the King Edward Hotel in March after our fourth-year final exams. I noticed Nancy from a distance on a number of occasions and found her attractive. Prior to then, I had never spoken to her nor did I have the chance to work with her as a restorative hygienist in the Group Practice Unit (GPU) of Clinic 2. At that time, I mentioned my wanting to find a companion for our grad semi-formal to Jaideep Lal (our 4th year class president) and he said that he just worked with Nancy in the GPU and she was very nice and he would gladly introduce me to her. So, one day shortly thereafter, we met in the Edward Street Lobby and one thing led to another and she accepted my invitation to our graduation dinner and dance at the King Eddie! We graduated together at Convocation Hall on June 4th, 1982. Our affection and love for each other blossomed and we got married in June 1986. We raised our three children in Aurora and they have all become successful in their own chosen careers, namely: a physiotherapist, a clinical prosthetist and orthotist, and a computer engineer.

What do you remember most about your spouse from dental school?

Nancy would say that when she first met me, I was wearing crimplene polyester pants which she didn’t like at all and so she wondered if she should even go out with me! Thankfully she did and I never wore those pants again. I remember dancing with her at our last few Dents Pubs and having a great time!

What is your fondest overall memory from dental school?

In my case, when we first put together our class executive in September 1978 of my first year, I ran for and was elected Social Director of the class of 8T2. My main job was to organize three to four annual Dents 8T2 campus pubs. We usually held them at the Medical Sciences Building Lobby or Wetmore Hall, New College. Since Dentistry then was approximately 80 per cent male, our pubs always attracted girls from the then female dominated disciplines such as Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Nursing. We always had great music to dance to and of course beer was the students’ beverage of choice! Our class executive decided that any profits made would be saved over time in order to reduce the cost of our fourth-year graduation semi-formal. I am happy to say that class members who came to our pubs had a great time and I was re-elected Social Director for each of the four years of dental school.

Sports played a big role in my time at dental school, being a member of the Dents A volleyball team for four years. Our highlight was making it to the finals in fourth year being bested in a close match by the “Jocks” Phys. Ed. A.

I also participated in the Dents 8T2 class water polo team whose outstanding player was John (“Flounder”) Wiles. We also had our own Dents 8T2 intramural hockey team called the WTF’s. (I will leave the acronym to the reader to decipher). Our jersey was designed by classmate Joe Bulger and our colours were similar to the then Atlanta Flames.

Other fond memories which Nancy and I both experienced include the Toronto Harbour Boat Cruises on the Sam McBride and the Trillium ferry boats. The annual Fall Balls organized by the Dental Students Society also bring back good memories.

When it was the turn for our class to produce Dentantics at the Hart House Theatre, our classmate Janice Mummery did a fantastic job of directing the show! In one skit, I impersonated Dean Richard Ten Cate. In another a group of us sang, “It’s still Dentistry to me” to the tune of Billy Joel’s, “It’s still Rock and Roll to Me”.

How has U of T played a role in where you both are today?

The University of Toronto and especially the Faculty of Dentistry has played a very important role in both of our lives. Nancy spent four years at the Faculty first obtaining her Diploma in Dental Hygiene as a member of the last University trained graduating class in 1977. (After that, the dental hygiene programs were taken over by the community colleges). Then from 1980-82 she completed the Bachelor of Science in Dentistry (expanded duty restorative dental hygiene program). I received my four-year Bachelor of Science and my Doctor of Dental Surgery at the University of Toronto. This was followed by a one-year University of Toronto affiliated Dental Residency program at St. Michael’s Hospital. This U of T education allowed Nancy to become a well-respected Professor of Dental Hygiene at Georgian College in Orillia at the time. My years at U of T and the Faculty of Dentistry enabled me to establish and achieve success in my own family dental practice in Aurora.

Tell us about your current life - practice, family, travel?

Currently, I am still practicing four days a week. Nancy retired from teaching dental hygiene having been instrumental in obtaining CDHO accreditation for the program at The A-Plus Institute as well as helping start the dental hygiene program at The Aurora Dental College. She still helps out doing part-time reception at my office. Both of us enjoy the long-term relationships cultivated with the patients in our practice, often spanning three generations! I am, however, looking forward to eventually passing the torch to a younger practitioner and cutting back my days and hours.

We have two young grandchildren now and we really enjoy spending time with them. Nancy is a member of the Aurora chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women and she spends time in their movie and book clubs and going hiking with members of the hiking club.

I still enjoy playing Oldtimers Hockey a few times a week during the winter, but in the summer, we spend time at the family cottage in Haliburton. We still have not travelled much internationally since the beginning of COVID but we hope to do more going forward as long as we remain healthy. Our youngest daughter is getting married in September and we are excited about that!

We continue to appreciate everything that The Faculty of Dentistry has allowed us to become and hope to continue to provide donations annually to our alma mater as long as we can!