HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC: Holton Charles Letson, aged 85, passed away at his home on December 29, 2010, after a long illness.

He was born on January 23, 1925 in Red Cloud, Nebraska, the son of Holton Cleveland Letson and Anne Louise Richards Letson, both of pioneering families in Nebraska.
As a teenager, he would work in the Kansas wheat fields in the summer.
Before entering college he worked in Minnesota, near Ely, and helped to guide canoe trips in the Boundary Waters.
In addition to outdoor activities and camping, he loved playing the trombone and enjoyed the big bands of the 1930s and 40s. He was a National Merit Finalist. This award provided scholarship money for him to attend Doane College in Crete, Nebraska where he studied pre-medicine.
During WW II, after one and a half years at Doane he was drafted into the US Army and then on to Stanford University where he completed pre-medical requirements. He graduated medical school at the University of Nebraska in Omaha.
He interned in surgery at The Ohio State University Hospitals where he met Betty Mellinger, a nurse who was working in University Hospitals. They were married in May 1949.
After completing his internship, Chuck, as many of his friends called him, went on to Detroit where he did his residency in Ophthalmology at the Kresge Eye Institute. With one year to go in residency, the Korean War started and he was called into service.
Initially he was sent to the US Panama Canal Zone, then to the base at San Juan, Puerto Rico. There he was fortunate enough to spend the next two years practicing his specialty of ophthalmology.
In 1953 he joined Robert S. Martin, MD in Zanesville, Ohio where he practiced until 1986. In 1964 he spent several months in Algeria performing medical missionary work.
He was Chief of Staff of Bethesda Hospital when they built their new facility in 1965. He served on the vestry of St. James Episcopal Church.
In 1989 he and Betty moved to Hilton Head Island

He is preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Betty Jean Letson; and is survived by his children, Alan (Susan) Letson, Kate (James) Blakeslee, Janet (Robert) Eder; and grandchildren, Robert Letson, Charles Letson, James Blakeslee IV, Samuel Blakeslee, Robert William Eder III, Benjamin Eder, Laura Eder and Claire Eder.


A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 31, 2010 at the St. Luke's Columbarium at 1 p.m. for family and close friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. James Episcopal Church,155 N. Sixth Street, Zanesville, Ohio 43701
The Island Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. www.theislandfuneralhome.com

Published in the Times Recorder on December 30, 2010