Calton McCord Lewis, M.D.

Calton McCord Lewis, M.D. June 5, 1929 ~ June 14, 2022 (age 93) Calton McCord Lewis, M.D. was born in Syracuse, Kansas on June 5, 1929, to Seigel Thomas Lewis and Fern (nee Branson) Lewis. On the morning of June 14, 2022, Cal went to his heavenly home peacefully, surrounded by family, in Elko, Nevada. Cal was 93 years old.

Cal’s family ranched near Syracuse, Kansas. In the early 1930’s, during the depression and the dust bowl, they lost their ranch; Cal was 6 years old. After Seigel and Fern divorced, Fern and the children moved to Arvada, Colorado, where they spent several years, then moved to Escondido, California.

Cal started as a Sophomore at Escondido Union High School, then attended his first year at Palomar Junior College, before joining the Marine Corp in 1948-1950. In 1949, Cal married Patricia Ann Riffle, who he met while attending Escondido Union High School. Together they had three children, Gary, Annie and Bonnie. Cal and Patricia divorced in 1972. Cal worked as a civilian firefighter for the Marines at Camp Pendleton from 1950 – 1957. Then he went into Pre-Med and graduated from the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1964. Cal practiced Family Medicine on the Monterey Peninsula until he moved to Spring Creek, Nevada to join the Elko Clinic in May 1976. In October 1986, he went into private practice of Family Medicine in Elko until his reluctant retirement in May, 1999. In 1999, Cal was awarded Emeritus Assistant Clinical Professor of Family & Community Medicine by the University of Reno School of Medicine. By November of 1999 Cal had flunked retirement and accepted a position to practice medicine at the Shoshone-Paiute Indian Reservation in Owyhee, Nevada. He made many friends and truly grew to love the Native Americans. Cal continued his work in Owyhee until January 2006, when he returned again to the ranch on 10-Mile Creek. He then was a Locum Tenens Physician at the Grover C. Dils Community Hospital in Caliente, Nevada.

Cal married Carole Amerigian in 1977 at the Presbyterian “Church of the Crossroads” in Lamoille, Nevada. Cal, Carole and her two sons, Deran and Seth ranched on 10-Mile Creek along the Hill Beachey Hamilton City Stage Road, raising registered Salers beef cattle. Ranch work was done after the demands of a full medical practice, feeding cattle with the help of Carole, Deran and Seth, in the dark of winter, often with the snow blowing horizontally and the thermometer sometimes 20 below zero.

In 2002, Cal began to write a book about his father’s trials during the defense of Wake Island, and the torture and beating his father endured in the Japanese prison camps. The book, entitled Wake Island: The Story of a Civilian POW at Niigata, Japan, 1941-1945 was published in 2006. In 2014, Cal also published A Jealous Mistress: 46 Years of Practicing Medicine. Cal also loved writing poetry and songs about his life’s experiences.

Cal was preceded in death by his father, mother, son Gary, brothers Tom and Claude, sister Loris and grandson, Grant.

Cal is survived by his beloved wife, Carole and her sons Deran Amerigian (Megan) and Seth Amerigian (Roxanne), daughters Annie Avery (Lowell) and Bonnie Freeman; his grandchildren Brenna, Cora, Sarah, Alivia and Kate Amerigian, Taylor and Beckett Grisham, Joel and Palmer Avery, Sam and Maggie Willard, and nine great grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held on Friday, June 24th at 2 pm at Christ Community Church at 322 Fairgrove Dr. Spring Creek, NV 89815

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any charitable donations be made in honor of Cal to a charity of your choice

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