Friends and family of longtime Thibodaux dentist Robert Carbon, who died Jan. 14, said even Parkinson’s disease could not diminish his smile.
Carbon, who worked as a dentist in Thibodaux for 44 years, was known for his sense of humor, the care and patience he showed his patients and his smile, said his wife, Anita.
“He was not about making the money. He took his time with patients and everyone loved him. He was always smiling,” Anita Carbon said.
Carbon was born in New Orleans and moved to Thibodaux to become a dentist.
Besides his caring for his patients, he was also passionate about Harley Davidson motorcycles, a passion that grew from an interest in sports cars. It was through an interest in motorcycles that John Weimer, an associate justice on the state Supreme Court, befriended Carbon.
“He was incredibly friendly and always smiling. Even though his illness adversely affected the muscles throughout his body, it could never diminish his smile,” Weimer said. “Bob taught me how to face difficult and challenging times with courage and with a good attitude.”
Weimer said when Carbon moved to Thibodaux from New Orleans, he not only fell in love with the community, the community fell in love with him.
Debbie Fournet worked as Carbon’s dental hygienist for 41 years. She said when she worked with him, he didn’t hover over her as other dentists tend to, and she felt her opinion mattered.
“He never rushed through anything. He always took his time,” Fournet said. “The person who sat in his chair, that was the most important person around.”
Carbon was also a devoted father, Weimer said. After one of his daughters, Jennifer, suffered an accident in Texas and went into a coma she wasn’t expected to wake up from, he changed the operation hours of his dentistry practice so he could visit her outside of San Antonio each weekend. He would talk to her, read to her and also work the muscles in her arms and legs.
Weimer had the opportunity to read the notes the nurses wrote during this time, and they indicated “this man is working a miracle,” he said.
“The note I remember very well said ‘He has literally tormented her out of the coma.’ The nurses' notes were lavish in their praise in the dedication of a father to his daughter, and he did that for months and months until she eventually came out of the coma and recovered enough to where she was able to come home with him,” Weimer said.
She died from pneumonia a few years later at 24 years old. In her memory, Carbon hosted a bonfire every year at his home in Chackbay for Mardi Gras, which was her favorite holiday.
“He was a great dad, and he was fun person,” Anita Carbon said. “He was always ready to do something, always ready to go somewhere on adventures.”
-- Staff Writer Holly Duchmann can be reached at 857-2205 or holly.duchmann@houmatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter @holly_evamarie.