P.J. Elkis, Woodbury dentist

Preston J. Elkis, 91, of Williamstown, a former dentist in Woodbury, died Friday, April 8, at home.

Born in Woodbury, Dr. Elkis graduated from Woodbury High School in 1941, earned a bachelor's degree in science at Muhlenberg College in 1945, and graduated from what is now the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University.

He served from 1954 to 1957 as an Army dentist in Bremerhaven, West Germany, where his daughter Karin said she was born.

Dr. Elkis opened his general practice in Paulsboro at the end of 1957 and moved his office to Woodbury in the mid-1960s, she said.

Gregory McGann, a pediatric dentist, joined an office in the same building as Dr. Elkis' and knew him as "a very good friend and a mentor."

He was "direct, to the point, but would do anything to help someone," he said. As a senior colleague, McGann said, Dr. Elkis "gave me a lot of advice I'll always remember."

Dr. Elkis also enjoyed getting his boots into the mud.

He and a colleague owned a farm with ground in Gloucester and Salem Counties, his daughter said, where they raised crops and cattle.

Though the farm was run by its own staff, she said, "he baled hay, he took us out to pick crops."

Besides his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Barbara; a son, Tony; another daughter, Alisa; a stepson, Richard Weatherby; stepdaughters Wendy Gallagher and Susan Cronan; a brother; and five grandchildren.

His first wife, Nancy, died in 1996. He was also predeceased by their children, Gregory and Emily.

No public funeral or memorial services are planned.

Donations may be sent to the Preston J. Elkis Memorial Fund, 15 Northfield Plaza, Northfield, N.J. 08225.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.plattmemorial.com.

wnaedele@phillynews.com

610-313-8134 @WNaedele