FOLLANSBEE — Later this month, Dr. Michael Pipo will be closing his dental practice after serving area residents of all ages for nearly 40 years.

And as a goodwill gesture to the community and a nod to his own military background, Pipo is donating his office at 970 Main St. to his neighbors at American Legion Post 45.

The post’s headquarters has been closed since part of its roof collapsed during a severe storm on April 29.

Asked what led to his offer, he replied, “For one thing, they need it.”

Pipo said representatives of the post, learning of his planned retirement, offered to buy his office.

But instead of accepting money for his building, he suggested they apply their funds to altering it to suit their needs.

Leaders of the post have expressed appreciation for the doctor’s donation, adding they plan to use the office while pursuing funds to construct a new building at the current post’s site.

Through the years, Pipo has been a member of the Follansbee and Weirton posts of the American Legion, noting he has a number of friends in the latter.

“They’re both great groups of guys,” he said.

Pipo launched his long career in dentistry in the military.

A Steubenville native and 1976 graduate of Catholic Central High School, he pre-enlisted in the Air Force while in high school.

He had been inspired to pursue dentistry by his own dentist, Dr. Richard Rasor, and saw an opportunity to further that goal by serving in a dental office at Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Columbus.

Pipo said he was able to take some night courses and those and a physical education credit he received for completing basic training enabled him to attend West Virginia University as a transfer student when he left the Air Force after three years.

He said the Air Force’s assistance with college tuition helped him tremendously, paying for most of his education as an undergraduate student majoring in chemistry at WVU.

After enrolling in the university’s dental school in 1986, he was approached about serving as a dental officer in the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Tactical Airlift Group at Yeager International Airport near Charleston.

“Everything just fell into place,” said Pipo, who continued to serve until 2003, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He noted he had been called up to serve in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

But instead of being sent to the Middle East, he was assigned to replace active duty personnel who were deployed from Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, D.C., said Pipo.

After finishing dental school and while serving in the Air National Guard, he began working as a dentist.

He worked initially at a dental clinic at a St. Clairsville department store.

“When you get out of college, you’ve got to find a way to pay off your loans,” noted Pipo.

He added he also needed to accumulate funds for the malpractice insurance required of all physicians and the equipment needed for his own future practice.

After obtaining a loan for the equipment from a local bank, he opened an office in the former Ben Franklin Store on Follansbee’s Main Street in 1986.

Later he built his present office in a vacant lot farther north on Main that ironically, he bought from the Follansbee American Legion.

Pipo faced a major setback when the office was one of more than 30 businesses and homes that were flooded in 2016.

In recent years, city officials have pursued measures to prevent Allegheny Creek, the source of the flood, from becoming blocked by debris and to more effectively convey heavy rain, also a contributor, through storm sewers and to the Ohio River.

“Thank God I had flood insurance,” said Pipo, while adding that anything not directly touched by flood water wasn’t covered.

His office was closed for three months while crews replaced the flooring and some equipment, and the facility had to be disinfected before re-opening.

“I lived off some of my retirement (fund) during that time,” he said.

The veteran dentist confirmed he has seen generations of patients and seen many changes in his field through the years.

“I see the grandchildren of my first customers. I’ve seen more than 15,000 people,” said Pipo.

He estimates that he’s provided thousands of fillings and hundreds of dentures.

Pipo noted X-rays now are produced at his office using digital equipment when they once were developed in a way similar to the camera film of old.

“Back in the old days, we used the old-fashioned X-ray film and dip tanks,” he said.

Pipo noted the current procedure is faster and exposes patients to less radiation.

He said through the years, he’s been fortunate to have been assisted by a hard-working staff.

“I can’t do this alone,” he said.

His staff has included Donna Smith — who worked for him from 1992 to 2023, when she retired –and present staff members Diana Fife, the office’s receptionist; and dental assistant Ciara Rogers; and until very recently, dental hygienist Kelly McDiffit.

Pipo said he has mixed feelings about retiring, but at age 67, “I just felt it was time.”

On the day of his interview, he arrived before his officer hours to shovel snow from his front sidewalk and confirmed maintaining a dental practice involves a lot of responsibilities.

Asked how he will spend his retirement, Pipo noted he looks after his mother, who is 80.

“‘l’ll probably continue with the American Bando Association,” he added, explaining he became interested in the Burmese martial art while in high school.

“I’m not nearly as active in it as I used to be, but I’ll probably become more involved with it now,” he said.

In addition to the American Legion, Pipo has been a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the National Guard Association of the United States, the American Dental Association and West Virginia Dental Association and is a lifetime member of the Delta Sigma Delta International Dental Fraternity.