Clinton Campbell Emmerson

Clinton Campbell Emmerson, a dentist who practiced in Hemet from 1955 until his retirement in 2004, died in Redlands, California, on Friday, December 30, 2011, at the age of 92. Born in Forest Grove, Oregon, he moved as a boy with his family to the Napa Valley where his father worked at Pacific Union College and Clinton later attended college. As a student at PUC, he met his future wife, Patricia Giddings. Upon graduation from PUC, he attended the College of Physicians and Surgery, now Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of Pacific, in San Francisco, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Omega and Omicron Kappa Epsilon, and National Honor Societies. Graduating from dental school in 1944, Dr. Emmerson served two years stateside in the Dental Corps of the United States Army, attaining the rank of Captain. Following his discharge from the army, Dr. Emmerson practiced dentistry in Corona Del Mar, until relocating to Hemet in 1955, where he was able to establish a dental practice and enjoy his avocation, farming and raising Arabian horses, both on the family ranch on Devonshire Avenue. His pediatric patients delighted in viewing the horses and other farm animals at their dental appointments. In 1957, Dr. Emmerson was named a diplomate in the American Board of Pedodontics. Later he also became a member of both the American College and International College of Dentists. While maintaining his practice in Hemet, he served as a professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California from 1957 to 1963. During his tenure at USC, he and colleagues researched, published findings, and established procedures to save primary teeth from extraction still employed today. For many years, Dr. Emmerson and his family collected food, clothing, and toys for members of 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 horses, Dr. Emmerson was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of the 46th Agricultural Association (Farmers Fair) by Governors Reagan, Brown, Deukmejian, and Wilson. During his years living and working in the valley, he served on the boards of the Hemet Kiwanis Club and the Ramona Bowl Music Association and was a co-founder and board member of the Rancho Arabian Horse Club. Dr. Emmerson is survived by his wife of 70 years, Patricia; one son, Bill (Nan); one daughter, Sharon; and three grandchildren, Kate Emmerson, Caroline Chatigny, and Clayton Lemons, all of Redlands. Visitation will be at Emmerson Barlett Mortuary in Redlands on Thursday, January 12 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The memorial service will be on Friday, January 13 at 12:45 p.m. at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California. Memorials may be made to the Pediatric Departments at the 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 Pacific, 2155 Webster Street, San Francisco, California 94115; or the Student Scholarship Fund of Pacific Union College, 1 Angwin Avenue, Angwin, California.