CORTON, Richard Van Metre, Dr. 1920-2014
CORTON, VAN METRE, YOUNG, BELLAMY
Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 2/27/2015 at 23:44:26
[Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Sunday, September 14, 2014]
Dr. Richard Van Metre Corton, formerly of Waterloo, died on Sept. 8, 2014, in Green Valley, Ariz. He was 94.
Dr. Corton was born on April 21, 1920, in Waterloo, to Edward Lincoln Corton and Margaret Van Metre Corton. He attended Emerson Elementary School, Sloane Wallace Junior High and graduated valedictorian from West High School in 1938. Dr. Corton studied at Iowa State Teacher’s College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from University of Iowa with a B.A. in 1942. He received his M.D. from the University of Iowa in 1945. Dr. Corton interned at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
On Dec. 14, 1946, Dr. Corton married Janet Young in Ridgewood, N.J., whom he met at the University of Iowa during the summer of 1944.
A captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Dr. Corton practiced medicine at Veteran Administration (VA) Hospitals in Knoxville, Iowa, and Fargo, N.D. Dr. Corton also worked in Albany, N.Y., and Elkins, W.Va. Upon returning to Waterloo in 1952, he began a private practice, which he maintained for 38 years. For 15 years, he partnered with Dr. Richard Acker. He became Board Certified by the American Academy of Family Practice in 1974. Dr. Corton also worked as an occupational physician at John Deere and Company in Waterloo for 27 years. During the last decade of his practice, he focused on geriatric medicine. He served in various administrative capacities at Schoitz Hospital and Covenant Medical Center as well as Associate Medical Director of Cedar Valley Hospice.
After retiring to Iowa City in 1990, he served as Associate Medical Director of Iowa City Hospice. While in Iowa City until 2005, he was also involved in the University of Iowa Foundation and the University of Iowa Art Museum. He and his wife moved to Green Valley in 2005.
An old-fashioned general practitioner, Dr. Corton often made house calls, especially to his elderly patients. At his 1990 retirement, Dr. Corton was recognized for his patience and kindness toward his older patients. Many were very devoted to him, often bringing him homemade pies and gifts. During tough financial times, Dr. Corton accepted payment in the form of food, such as livestock, from some of his farmer/rural patients.
A member of Christ Episcopal Church as a boy in Waterloo, Dr. Corton sang tenor in the choir. He was involved in numerous organizations in Waterloo, including Cedar Valley Arts Forum, Junior Art Gallery and Rotary. He enjoyed riding his bike to visit patients and friends. A lifelong student, he loved art, music, travel, gardening, watching Iowa wrestling and spending time with his family.
Dr. Corton’s passing marks the end of an era in Waterloo. His father, Edward Lincoln Corton, worked as a reporter and city editor from 1900 to 1931 at the Waterloo Courier. His mother, Margaret Van Metre, worked at the Waterloo Courier as one of Iowa’s first women society editors, before her marriage. Dr. Corton’s grandfather, Isaiah Van Metre, started the Waterloo Tribune in 1879, which was sold to the Waterloo Courier in 1931. His first cousin, Peter Van Metre, served as Black Hawk County District Judge.
He is preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, John Van Metre Corton and Edward Lincoln Corton.
He is survived by his wife; his three children, Richard (Rick) Van Metre Corton Jr. (Faith) of Cave Creek, Ariz.; Jon Christopher (Chris) Corton (Cydney) of Chapel Hill, N.C.; Robin Corton Bellamy (John) of St. Paul, Minn.; and six grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 11 a.m., at St. Francis-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, Green Valley.
Memorials in his name can be sent to St. Francis-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, 600 La Canada Drive, Green Valley, AZ 85614; the University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4450, Iowa City, IA 52244; or The Nature Conservancy of Iowa, 505 Fifth Ave., Suite 930, Des Moines, IA 50309. Correspondence can be sent to The Corton Family, 750 La Posada Circle, Apt. #72, Green Valley, AZ 85614.
Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
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