Clinton Campbell Emmerson

Born in Forest Grove, Oregon, he moved as a boy with his family to the Napa Valley in California, where his father worked at Pacific Union Collage. Clinton later attended PUC and, there, met his future wife, Patricia Giddings. They were married following Patricia's graduation in 1941.

In 1940, Clinton entered the U. S. Army Specialized Training Program as a student at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, in San Francisco. He was a member of Tau Kappa Omega Honor Society and Omicron Kappa Epsilon, the national honor society for dentistry.

After graduation from dental school in 1944, Dr. Emmerson began active duty service as a dentist at Station Hospital in Georgia, attaining the rank of Captain.

Following discharge from the Army, Dr. Emmerson practiced dentistry in Corona del Mar, until he relocated to Hemet in 1955, where he established his dental practice, avocation - farming and raising Arabian horses - and residence, all on the family ranch. His pediatric patients delighted in viewing the horses and other farm animals at their dental appointments.

In 1957, Dr. Emmerson became a diplomate of the American Board of Pedodontics. He was also a Fellow of both the American College and International College of Dentists.

From 1957 to 1963, while maintaining his practice in Hemet, he served as professor and chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Southern California. During his tenure at USC, he and colleagues developed procedures, still used worldwide, to save primary teeth from extraction.

For many years, Dr. Emmerson collected food, clothing, and toys for the Navajo Tribe in Monument Valley, Utah, and volunteered his dental services to tribal members on the reservation.

Because of his interest in agriculture and raising horses, he was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the 46th Agricultural Association (Farmers Fair, now Southern California Fair) by Governors Reagan, Brown, Duekmejian, and Wilson. During his years of living and working in the San Jacinto Valley, he served as president of the Hemet Kiwanis Club, co-founder and board member of the Rancho California Arabian Horse Club, and program director of the Ramona Bowl Music Association.

Dr. Emmerson is survived by his wife of 70 years, Patricia; one son Bill (Nan); one daughter, Sharon; three grandchildren, Kate Emmerson, Caroline Chatigny, and Clayton Lemons.

Memorials may be made to the Pediatric Departments of: Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, Loma Linda, California 92350; the USC School of Dentistry, 925 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, California 90089; the Dugoni School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific, 2155 Webster Street, San Francisco, California 94115; the Student Scholarship Fund of Pacific Union College, 1 Angwin Avenue, Angwin, California 94508; or the Ramona Bowl, 27400 Ramona Bowl Road, Hemet, CA 92544.