Old-school doctors left their mark

COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene community lost yet another legendary professional when Dr. Wilbur Lyon passed away Aug. 19 at the age of 89.

Lyon came to Coeur d'Alene and became its 14th doctor in 1961, in a bygone era when milkmen left cold bottles on the doorstep and doctors made house calls in the middle of the night.

Many area residents who have been around a while have fond memories of being cared for by Lyon and his late contemporaries, including Drs. Donald and Jane Gumprecht, Dr. William Wood and Dr. E.R.W. "Ted" Fox. They delivered thousands of babies and doctored generations of families, sharing lifelong personal relationships and friendships with their patients.

And current practicing doctors and surgeons know that this fleeting generation of old-school "pioneer" doctors has left a legacy for future generations of medical professionals to live up to.

"All these guys worked into their 80s, it's rather impressive," said Dr. Tim Quinn, 62. "They often would deliver the babies and then the babies of the babies that they delivered.

I don't know if they didn't have enough hobbies or if they just felt the call to be so dedicated to their patients."

Quinn, of Kootenai Surgery Associates, has been a general surgeon in Coeur d'Alene for 34 years and recalled working with Lyon, who was the first board-certified surgeon in the area.

"I would operate with him when I first came to town," Quinn said. "He was really an amazing guy with all that he's done, being raised in India and fighting in the war."

He said Lyon always made a "big deal" of being Coeur d'Alene's 14th doctor.

"He was always proud of that," he said.

Lyon was among a handful of doctors in a Coeur d'Alene that was a fraction of its current size. Doctors were expected to be able to diagnose a wide range of issues, rather than specialize in a certain area.

"All the docs, they were more generalists and they saw the whole patient," Quinn said. "I think they started in an era when the public didn't have an expectation that doctors were going to cure everything, but they really enjoyed the one-stop-shoppinng where doctors took care of all kinds of things."

Dr. Bob McFarland, 65, has been a physician for 30 years and practices at Family Medicine-Coeur d'Alene. He has a special memory about being one of Fox's patients.

"Dr. Ted Fox was my physician growing up and he's the reason I became a doctor," McFarland said. "He was gentle, understanding, very skillful, very intelligent, and when I was a young man I thought, 'That's the kind of man I want to be,' and providing the services he did to patients and families would be an admirable life goal."

McFarland also remembers working with Lyon.

"He was the model of an old-fashioned surgeon," McFarland said. "He was very kind to his patients, but very direct and business-like. Things got done quickly. He was the captain of his ship with his patients, and he ran a tight ship."

Dr. Ronald Fritz, 58, is a doctor of osteopathy and Fellow of American College of Cardiology (FACC) who practices at Heart Clinics Northwest in Coeur d'Alene. While he didn't begin working in the Lake City until 1995, he did get to work with Lyon at the tail end of his practice.

"He had a wonderful reputation here in the community," he said. "I think Wilbur exemplified the Norman Rockwell-type physician."

Fritz said he isn't aware of anyone who conducted surgery in the area prior to Lyon, who most likely was the one to introduce Coeur d'Alene to modern surgical practice.

"He just had such a calm manner about him," Fritz said of Lyon. "I'm sure he could make anyone who was anxious about their illness comforted from his demeanor. I really have respect for the man."

Of the pioneer doctors in general, Fritz said he feels fortunate for the legacy they leave behind.

"They set a very high standard for the physicans who follow to try to match," he said. "They put the bar pretty high for us, for other doctors to maintain that same level of commitment to the patients and thieir care."

McFarland said the patient-relationship dynamic has changed through the years as Coeur d'Alene and privacy/insurance technicalities have grown, but back then "there was a lot to be said for who you trusted completely, whose advice you took without question."

He said that while he is sometimes surprised that these days he is one of the oldest doctors in the room, the one people go to for advice, but he plans to continue to pass along what he learned from the great generation of pioneer doctors to the one that follows him.

"When I see that one of them has passed on, or I reflect on their achievements, I'm very grateful for the example that they set and for the mentoring they gave the next generation," McFarland said.