But sometime around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Grieselhuber will call it quits.
“It’s been a wonderful ride,” he said. “I’ve been very blessed to have chosen this career that I love, but I’m really looking forward to playing a lot of golf and doing some traveling.”
Grieselhuber graduated from Hamilton High School in 1954 and originally had planned to become an engineer, following in the footsteps of his father, brother, uncle and cousin.
But a family friend in Lexington, Ky., was a dentist, and he sparked an interest in Grieselhuber, who decided to pursue dentistry at Ohio State.
Shortly after graduating, he opened his own practice with the help of his parents and the Sanders family, which owned the Butler County Lumber Company.
“I really want to thank them, because they took a big, big gamble on me,” Grieselhuber said.
His brother, Rene, joined the practice in 1973, and eight years later the brothers moved from their Main Street office to a larger one at 345 Park Ave., which is where they still practice along with Jeffery Leibforth.
Two of their employees at the time of the move, Sandy Spadafora and Paul’s daughter Michelle Hetterich, still work at the practice.
“It’s been a neat opportunity to work with him and know him not only as a dad, but as a boss and a dentist,” Hetterich said. “I don’t think you could find a single staff member over the 50 years who would say a single negative thing about him.”
The crew of eight dental assistants, hygienists and office managers — which also includes Susan West, Barbara Westendorf, Janie Moore, Sheila Turner, Jessie Kunkel, Lisa Sizemore and Spadafora — average 14 years of service at the practice.
“He’s by far been the best boss anybody could ever hope for,” West said.
Grieselhuber officially retired 10 years ago, but the ever growing practice needed help so he agreed to work three days a week. Two years ago he cut it to one day a week.
“The best day of the week,” Westerndorf said.
The admiration from his staff is shared by his patients, who can expect to be greeted by name whether they visit Grieselhuber in the office or bump into him somewhere else.
“I’ve really taken pride in trying to do a nice job for the patients in a painless manner, and to be kind of involved in their lives,” Grieselhuber said.
“They put their trust in you and you try to make that worthwhile.
“It makes me happy the practice is going so well and the staff is happy and the patients are happy,” he continued. “It’s a good time to move on now.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.
About the Author