Dr. Robert E. Fadal, D.D.S.

Dr. Robert E. Fadal, D.D.S., 88, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, on Friday, November 7, 2025.Visitation will be Wednesday, November 12, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home, 6101 Bosque Blvd., Waco, Texas.

He was born on May 6, 1937, in Waco, Texas, to Haseep Otis and Lula Nell Fadal. From an early age, he was guided by family, faith, hard work, and charity—values that remained the foundation of his life.

Robert earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor University in 1959, before receiving his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston, Texas, in 1964. He was a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon national honorary society, the American Dental Association, the Academy of Operative Dentistry, the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry, the American Academy of Crown and Bridge Prosthodontics, the Southwest Academy of Restorative Dentistry, the Texas Dental Association, the Waco Dental Society, the Central Texas Dental Society, the Texas Gnathological Society, the International Academy of Gnathology, the C.A.I.C. Pacific Coast Dental Group, and an associate member of the Chicago District Dental Society.

He was awarded a Fellowship in the American College of Dentists and a Fellowship in the International College of Dentists. He served as a visiting professor of Prosthodontics at the Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry, as well as a consultant to the Veterans Administration Hospitals in Waco and Temple, Texas. Lecturing and presenting table clinics both nationally and internationally, he was considered one of the world's foremost authorities on gold casting and occlusion. He was widely recognized for his research in the use of gold in restorative dentistry. In 1971, at the Joint Centennial celebration of the Texas Dental Association and the Louisiana Dental Association in Houston, Texas, he received the highest dental honor in the state—the Cooley Clinic Award—for the best table clinic demonstration on gold casting.

Beyond his professional life, Robert found great joy in the outdoors, hunting and fishing with his family. He cherished the time spent with his sons and relatives at the Fadal family deer lease in Llano, Texas, which, after more than 80 years, remains in the family today. He loved gardening, tending to his lawn, and any project that required meticulous detail.

However, his true passion was wade fishing the Texas surf along North Padre Island for speckled trout and redfish—where he and his wife spent much of their time together as part-time residents of Corpus Christi. Some of his most treasured memories were walking the beach with Jan at sunrise, collecting seashells, and casting “plugs” at the breaking waves from his old red Ambassadeur 5500, in hopes of catching their dinner.

Above all, Robert was a devoted son, brother, husband, and father. He loved to laugh, and his laughter was contagious. His quick wit was unmatched, and his joke- and storytelling abilities endeared him to many.

Robert was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents; his sisters, Helen Murphy, and Dorothy Ferris; his sons, Robert E. Fadal II and Brian Berry; and his nephews, Al Ferris Jr. and Charlie Murphy.

He is lovingly survived by his wife, Janice Fadal; his children, Barney, and his wife, Lisa, Hugh, and wife, Courtney and Brady, and wife, Andrea; his brother, Ronald, and wife, Mary; his nephews, Kevin Ferris, and wife, Stephanie, Ronald Fadal, and wife, Jennifer, Robin Fadal, and wife, Rita, and Shawn Murphy, and wife, Shelly; and his granddaughters, Daniela Fadal, Carmela Fadal, Madison Berry, Natalie Berry, and Bryn Berry.

Honorary Pallbearers include Kevin Ferris, Ronald Fadal, Robin Fadal and Shawn Murphy.

The family invites you to leave a message or memory of Robert in his “Memorial Guestbook” at www.WHBfamily.com.