A gentle man by nature, Dr. Jim Cann Jr. focused on the art of gentle dentistry during the 33 years he practiced in Atlanta.

After he graduated from the Emory School of Dentistry, Dr. Cann set up shop in a medical concourse at Lenox Square shopping center and tended to patients there until 1990.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Dr. James H. Cann Jr. with his daughter Elizabeth in 1956. Another daughter joined his practice.

His reputation was so stellar than when Jimmy Carter moved to Atlanta to serve as Georgia's governor, he and his family chose Dr. Cann as their dentist, said his daughter Dr. Roberta D. Cann of Atlanta, who worked with her father for seven years until he retired.

"When my dad came along, not all dentists were gentle, but he was very committed to making every dental experience a comfortable experience," his daughter said. "He understood that people needed reassurance and what he always called tender loving care."

The memorial service for Dr. James H. Cann Jr. is set for 3 p.m. today at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Dr. Cann, 89, died May 28 of complications from Parkinson's disease in Greer, S.C., where he moved a few years ago when his health began to fail.

The body was cremated. Cremation Society of South Carolina is in charge of arrangements.

As he mentored her to become a dentist, Dr. Cann showed his daughter some of the conscientious techniques he had developed, such as how to administer a numbing shot without causing pain. But more importantly, she said, "he taught me the ethic of making certain that whatever you do, you do what it takes to make sure it's excellent."

Dr. Cann adhered to a pursuit of excellence in all kinds of endeavors. During his Rhode Island boyhood, he developed a love of sailing, ice-skating, canoeing and other outdoor sports.

He traveled to New Zealand, Costa Rica, Australia and other exotic destinations. And at 78, he embarked on an expedition to the North Pole and had his photo snapped the moment he arrived.

But he failed to achieve another lifelong goal: to perform dental research in space.

For his 70th birthday, his daughters enrolled him in a NASA space camp program in Huntsville, Ala.

After the astronaut training, Dr. Cann made serious inquiries about performing dental procedures in the weightless conditions of space. Eventually he was told he was too old.

Other than never making a spaceflight, "he did everything he wanted to do before he died," said his friend Dr. Ben Hampton of Gainesville.

And not all those goals were grand or ambitious. Some were quiet, such as his determination to spend as much time as he could with his wife, Judith Scarboro Cann, now deceased, and their three daughters.

"I called him once on a cold, windy Sunday and he said he had taken his girls to the Lenox Square parking lot to fly kites," Dr. Hampton said. "A lot of men don't think of things like that, but Jim did."

"He was the eternal optimist," he said. "Jim was never a downer."

His daughter said even when she worked with him all day, "every minute, he was a joy to be around."

"I would have gone into whatever profession he did," she said, "because from the time I was born, I just wanted to do whatever he did. I'm very lucky that I enjoy dentistry because I would have done anything to be around him."

Survivors include two other daughters, Elizabeth C. Gray of Greer, S.C., and Martha C. Ernest of Saginaw, Texas; and one grandson.