Percy Wilkins Arkle, 1904-1996 : Percy Wilkins Arkle was born on October 8, 1904 in Rutherglen, Scotland. He attended the University of Glasgow and received his Doctor of Dental Science degree in 1927. In 1934, he married Isabelle Muir, also of Rutherglen.
From 1939 - 42, he and Isabelle were based at the Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland and Labrador. From the Grenfell Mission, he provided dental services to aboriginals and Innu throughout Labrador. Similarly, Isabelle taught in Newfoundland and Labrador. At the University of Toronto (1942-1951), Percy received his BSc and taught Dental Anatomy. During the summers, he did research for his degree and provided dental treatment to the James Bay / Hudson Bay aboriginals. A son Walter, was born in Toronto in 1946. In Ontario, he was one of the first dentists to realize the value of fluoride in drinking water as a result of observing children's teeth in Brantford. In 1951, the family moved to Nanaimo B.C. Percy was one of the few dentists for preschool children in Canada, and was directly responsible for Central Vancouver Island. Following Isabelle's death in 1954, the B.C. Health Department sent Percy to California where he obtained a MPH degree frrom the University of California at Berkley in 1956. There, he met Marjorie, his second wife. They were married in Qualicum Beach, B.C. in 1957. The wedding was attended by Walter, and Marjorie's son, Ernie - both aged 10.
The family moved from Nanaimo to Tasmania, Australia in January 1960. In Tasmania, Percy was the School Dental Officer for the western part of the island. On his own time, he gave dental care to crew members of Antarctic research vessels, as well as to crews of other ships visiting the west coast. In 1962, the family moved to the state capital, Hobart, where Percy became the Senior dental Officer for Tasmania. There, he designed and supervised the building of a new dental clinic and extension of dental services throughout institutionalized handicapped children. In October, 1968, Percy returned to Ontario, Canada (followed by Marjorie and Ernie 3 months later) where he was the District School Dental Officer for Leeds, Lanark, and Granville counties. The federal government sent Percy and a colleague to the NWT in1972, to establish a dental training school for aboriginal students.
When he was 69, Percy retired for the first time; he and Marjorie moved to Oregon. However, at 72, he returned to practice and serve in the downtown community clinic in Vancouver, B.C. He retired for a second time two years later, moving to Vancouver Island in 1978. Following two small strokes in 1987, he entered a home for elderly. He was later transferred into extended care at Central Park Lodge, where he died peacefully on the 22nd of June, 1996 at the age of 91 years. Percy was a Fellow of both the Canadian and Royal Australian Dental Associations, as well as a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers).
