Jon T. Kapala

Jon T. Kapala died at his treasured home in Cape Neddick, Maine, on January 31, 2021. Ellie, his wife of 59 years, was with him when he left us.

Jon was born in 1938 in Philadelphia to Theodore and Sarah (Gray) Kapala. He attended St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., and later earned a B.S. degree from Boston University, a D.M.D. from Tufts University, an M.Sc.D. in Pedodontics, and a degree in Orthodontics from Boston University. 

He married Eleanor (Jordan) of Seattle, WA, in 1961 and they started their shared lifetime of adventure in the Public Health Service in Poplar, MT. They settled in Sherborn, MA, and throughout the years, Jon had private practices in Sherborn, Framingham, and Weston, MA, as well as in Keene, NH. He was a professor at the Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry where he also served as Chairman of Pediatric Dentistry for 15 Years. He was a staff Orthodontist at Franciscan Children’s Hospital, in Brighton, MA. He worked in the Cleft Lip/Palate and Craniofacial Clinic at Montreal Children’s Hospital and was an Adjunct Professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Among other roles in multiple dental organizations, he served as President of the Massachusetts Society of Dentistry for Children and President of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

In recent years, Jon enjoyed traveling, cooking, golfing, and visiting with former colleagues and students, many of whom remained his close friends throughout the years. Beyond his family, friends, and work, his greatest love was the Boston Red Sox and he spent far too many an evening in Loge Box 109 cheering and cursing them on.

Jon is survived by his wife Ellie; his daughter Kimberly Kapala; son Andrew Kapala and wife Linda; sister Karen Greene and husband Henry; grandchildren Robert Jon and wife Katelyn; Jordan Kapala; as well as many wonderful great-grandchildren, a niece, and nephews.

Services were private and a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. For online remembrances, please visit www.lucaseatonfuneralhome.com. Donations may be made to the Cleft Palate Unit of Montreal Children’s Hospital at www.childrenfoundation.com or to any other charity that helps to put a smile on a child’s face. Jon would love to have known that this was his legacy. He is already greatly missed.