- Date Of Birth: February 27, 1947
- Date Of Death: August 1, 2022
- State: Michigan
Barry Dean Hilligan, DDS
Born in Grand Rapids, MI at Butterworth Hospital on February 27, 1947 to James C. Hilligan, DDS and Evelyn M. (VanBree) Hilligan. He grew up in Portland, MI and spent his summers at a family summer home in Charlevoix, MI. They lived in Portland, MI during the school year where he attended St. Patrick’s Catholic School until his junior year the he moved to East Grand Rapids where he graduated from East Grand Rapids High School. The following fall he went to Ann Arbor to attend undergrad classes at the University of Michigan. He applied to both medical and dental school with the intention of going into whichever school accepted him first. He was accepted into dental school in 1968. After two years of under grad and four years of dental school he graduated from the University of Michigan as a DDS in 1972. After graduation, he moved back to Portland and went into practice with his father. His passion in his career was always to help others and to improve their lives by helping those who were in pain. He spent many years trying to help others using the practices that he had learned in college as well as continuing education, but it was not until 1991 when he was introduced to Dr. Robert L. Lee and his principles of Bioesthetics that he truly found how he was to spend the rest of his career helping others. He along with his wife, Loralee, worked with countless patients and changed so many lives. He was made a faculty member of OBI (Orognathic Bioesthetics International) in 1998. He traveled to many other parts of the world teaching these practices to other dentists. He also became Vice President of the foundation until he resigned in 2010. He continued his private practice in Portland, MI until he finally retired in 2019. The lives that he touched in his profession are countless and his legacy will live on in so many ways.
His passions outside of his career were numerous, but mostly revolved around the natural environment. He loved being outside either, hunting, fishing, exploring and working on his 100 acre farm in Portland, MI. Most of the time you could find him working with his tractor or mowing his lawn. He raised longhorn cattle, pheasants, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and many other animals in his lifetime. He was always a proponent of conservation and spent many years of his life attending and assisting with ducks unlimited and pheasants forever. His later years were spent mainly on the farm in Portland teaching his son and grandchildren his many talents.
He is survived by his wife, Loralee E. (Jackson) Hilligan, son, James S. Hilligan, daughter-in-law, Kristen “Kiley” K. (Bishop) Hilligan, grandsons, Hunter D. Hilligan and Connor T. Hilligan, brother, Dennis (Diana) Hilligan, sister, Patricia (David) Immonen, brother, Michael (Kathy) Hilligan, sister-in-law, Linda K. Leedy, and many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his father, James C. Hilligan, DDS, mother, Evelyn M. (VanBree) Hilligan, brother, James Hilligan and his wife, Louise (Willard) Hilligan, sister-in-law, Elizabeth A. Jackson and nephew, John Immonnen.
