39 years as Wimberley’s dentist

Things change, there’s no denying that, and one more change is coming to Wimberley as Dr. Robert White, DDS, is working towards his retirement after 39 years practicing in town.

Beyond his care of Wimberley’s teeth, Dr. White has also been one of the movers and shakers behind the scenes, and behind the microphone, over the years.

He has been involved in the community, lock, stock and dental chair, in multiple organizations in town, and if one remembers, he was the voice of Wimberley Texans at the football and volleyball games. He played a big part with the local UIL track meets and was involved with the EmilyAnn Theatre and the Wimberley Education Foundation. But that is just the beginning.

“I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, a little town of Santa Rosa, until I was 16, or almost 16... My dad was superintendent of schools, and he moved us to a little town Bloomington near Victoria,” Dr. White said. He participated in high school theatre and prose readings, perfecting that announcer’s voice. Most importantly, he met his future wife, Debbie in Bloomington. They have now been married for 43 years.

He graduated from high school there and was on to Texas A&M, majoring in Biology, but really only to get into dental school. During the summers, Dr. White was a cowboy on a real Texas ranch. He was familiar with driving tractors and was hired to cut down grass on a 19,000-acre ranch.

“The owner of this ranch liked to have all roads mowed, up and down on both sides, so it looks good. Right where he had an airplane and helicopter on the site. I got hired to do that. Well, the next year, they go, ‘You’re going to be a cowboy.’ Now here’s a guy who has never ridden a horse before...Outside of you know carnival horses,” he continued.

“Well, they put me on the owner’s daughter’s horses. Well guess what? They are the most high strung, because they’re bred to be show-horses and impress people. And I’m sitting here on top of these trying to hold them hold these stupid horses back. And I got the name ‘Bouncy, Bouncy’ ...Occasionally they put me on the fence line, where you went around to make sure the barbed wire was not broken somewhere.”

He graduated dental school at the UT the Health Science Center in San Antonio, where graduation meant putting on the colors of UT, which he found tolerable.

He liked Wimberley, and he had heard about a dental practice up for sale as a dentist was going through a divorice. He visited the practice, and it was quickly a done deal. He set up shop in an old strip center by Country Boys on the site of Brookshire Bros.

“(The practice started) slowly to build it; it took several years. After the second year, I probably needed a little more income. I started to work, teaching at the Health Science Center in San Antonio. I taught part time for three years down there. By the time the fifth year rolled around, we were doing real good. Up here, it was too much hassle driving down there. So I started working back here in Wimberley full time. And slowly it grew and grew. And then, eight years into it, I realize that two chairs doesn’t cut it, I need more room.”

Moving to a building located near the Presbyterian Church, the practice thrived in that location for 20 years. Again, needing more room, his present location was built near the post office on Joe Wimberley Bulevard.

Along the way, he got involved with high school sports and was the spotter for the first year, 1986, and became the main public address announcer the second year. He got some pointers from then volleyball coach Lee Grisham along the way.

“‘Once the matches start you’re going to be very professional just say the point scored by…(But) leading up to that, I’m going to let you go crazy’” White recounted Grisham saying. “I did. I started out with that low voice and bellow to start introducing the players. I’d always go to the coach of the opposing team before and say ‘Once the match starts, we’ll be very professional.’” Announcing in the Alamodome and at other football playoff games was also a thrill.

Over the years there are situations where that calming voice mattered like the patient that thought his new light was penetrating her brain. He handled it all in that same soothing voice that is just one of the many qualities of Dr. Robert White, DDS that will be missed as he is expected to retire early next year.