Chemical Dependency Pioneer Dies at 97

DR. JOHN P. SCULLIN, D.D.S., a founding member of the NYSDA support group that evolved into the Committee on Substance Abuse and Well-Being, died Jan. 29 at the age of 97. Dr. Scullin resided in Oswego.

Dr. Scullin was a pioneering proponent of intervening to aid professional colleagues whose lives and careers were upended by alcohol and/or substance abuse. He himself was a recovering alcoholic, a fact he didn’t attempt to hide. He went on to devote 30 years to NYSDA’s Chemical Dependency Committee, including eight years as its chair. In 1990 he was presented with the NYSDA Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Scullin was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dentistry. He served as a lieutenant in the Naval Dental Corps during World War II and the Korean Conflict and was a colonel in the Army Dental Corps Reserve. He was in private practice in Oswego until 1989 and a dentist for the New York State Department of Corrections from 1989 until his retirement in 1995. He was a past president of the Oswego County and Fifth District Dental societies and achieved life membership in organized dentistry in 1989. A member since 1948, he recorded 71 years of service.

Dr. Scullin is survived by his seven children, 12 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and a niece. z