It doesn’t feel like 50 years to him.

Jack Leverett and his wife, Joyce, moved to Bainbridge in 1965. Leverett liked South Georgia because of all the hunting and fishing available to him. Not to mention his parents in Colquitt County were getting old, and he wanted to be close to them.

Fifty years blew past. Looking back, Leverett couldn’t be happier with his home.

A large percentage of those in Bainbridge and Decatur County can probably say Leverett has looked in their mouth. He’s the head dentist at Leverett Dental in Bainbridge, an office he started in August 1965. He’s now taking care of the kids and grandkids of his original patients.

“All my patients are my friends,” Leverett said, which goes back to what he loves about Bainbridge—the people. The warmest, most welcoming people he and his wife have ever met.
Leverett and Joyce married in 1959. After a short two years in the U.S. Air Force, Leverett settled on Bainbridge to be the home of his family and dental practice. Those first years he worked six days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“If you wanted to come, he was there,” Joyce said. “He’s the worker, and he did what he needed to do.”

One of the first things Leverett accomplished after moving was purifying the public water.

“We did not have fluoride in the public water here,” Leverett said. “I went to (former Mayor Bill Reynolds) and said this was something we ought to do, and he agreed and got it done.”

Leverett noticed a significant drop in cavities in his patients after the fluoride was added.

In the early 1990s, Leverett’s son, Jay, joined the practice. The father and son work together now, and Leverett now has more time to do other things he loves. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t always been busy.

He was one of the founding directors of First Port City Bank, and was on the board for 35 years. He was heavily involved in the Chamber of Commerce, and helped pull the strings to start what was then Bainbridge College. He’s a past president and current member of Rotary Club. On a larger scale, he has been a member of the American Dental Association for more than 50 years and is a past president of the Georgia Dental Association’s southwest district.

Staying active, taking care of people and working with each other—that’s what Leverett loved, and still loves, about Bainbridge. He’s glad he’s been a dentist here for 50 years. And he isn’t done yet.

“I’m still healthy, thank goodness, and I still enjoy the people,” Leverett said.