Four decades of caring for Henryettans' dental health was celebrated Tuesday.
Dr. David Warden officially ended his practice with a reception at the dental center he built.
"It seemed as though those four years of dental school drug on," he said, "but the past 40 years have gone by in a hurry."
After graduating from Henryetta high school, he received his dental training in Ohio then did a stint in the military including being stationed in England. When he returned, he practiced dentistry for a short time in Ohio then received his license in Oklahoma and returned to Henryetta.
In the 1980s he built the Henryetta Dental Center at Sixth and Broadway. In 2010, he sold the practice to Dr. Jeremy Johnson but continued to see patients.
Not content to be known just as a dentist, Dr. Warden also carved out a career as a football referee.
Starting with high school and college football officiating, he eventually moved up the ranks to the National Football League. Many of his weekends have been spent either wearing the traditional black and white official's shirt or working with referees critiquing their calls.
That is going to continue now that he no longer will be seeing patients.
He has also been involved in local activites as well. He serves on the board of the Henryetta Education Foundation, is a member of the Henryetta Rotary club and a board member at American Exchange Bank. He is also a member of the Henryetta Country club men's golf association.
He was presented with a farewell cake depicting his love of golf that had photographs of his early days in college as well as the first collegiate game he refereed at the University of Oklahoma.
Warden said he and his wife, Cathy, will be splitting their time between Henryetta and North Carolina where the rest of their family lives.
The reception Tuesday saw a number of current and former patients stop by to wish him well and gave office co-workers one last opportunity to visit.