Dr. Eugene Pinto, dentist, piano player

A dentist with a talent for music and a love of two sports, Dr. Eugene Pinto of North Woodmere died on Aug. 7. He was 85.

Born on Aug. 14, 1928 in Lawrence, Pinto attended the Number Two School in Inwood before attending Blair Academy in Hershey, Pa. He spent his undergraduate years at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and then went to NYU Dental College.

After dental school, Pinto enlisted in the Navy during the Korean War and achieved the rank of lieutenant. He also traveled to the Mediterranean in the Navy and spent time in Greece, Turkey, Italy and Spain.

He opened a dental practice with his father, Biaggio, on Central Avenue in Lawrence and met his wife, Roberta, through her sister, a patient of Pinto’s. The couple married in 1955 and settled in Far Rockaway and later in North Woodmere.

They had two children, Kim and Ronald. Kim died in 2011 of an autoimmune disease.

Pinto also served as school dentist at the Number Five School in Cedarhurst. “He did a great deal of pro bono work for poorer patients,” said Joseph Lynch, a longtime friend of Pinto’s. “Those who knew him remarked on both his meticulous work and his highly personal and sensitive manner. His presence and his joy were radiant.”

Aside from his career, Pinto played the piano and was involved in the “Golden Age” musical group at Peninsula Counseling Center in Valley Stream.

“He was a man who was filled with joy and a naturally supportive person,” Lynch said. “His patients remember his ready smile and the twinkle in his eye. He loved his patients and his wife Roberta wants to thank them for all their care and love.”

Pinto is survived by his wife, Roberta, son Ronald, and grandchildren Brett, Brandon and Brittany.