Dr. Wesley Hoskins was born in 1923 in Dayton, WA and died on May 14, 2018 at age 95 in Eugene, OR.
All his ancestors were Northwestern pioneers. Great-great grandfather Dillon Hoskins brought his family by wagon over the Oregon Trail to Scio in 1851 (great-grandfather James Birney Hoskins, at age 10, walked beside the wagon from Iowa to Champoeg, OR.) On his mother’s side, Jeremiah Kenoyer and family were members of the Preachers’ Wagon Train to Oregon in 1853.
His parents were Wayne and Lavina Hoskins of Dayton, WA.
Wes decided as a young boy that he wanted to have “a life filled with adventures.” He wrote his autobiography, An Organic Childhood, about growing up on a rural farm in southeastern Washington during the Great Depression, riding a pony to a one-room school, working in the hay fields for a dollar for a ten-hour day, milking cows every day and listening to a battery-powered radio until electricity arrived at their farm when he was 16.
With no money, he worked his way through a California Junior College in Oceanside, then University of Washington by waiting tables, driving Cat in summer harvest; he embalmed cadavers at UW, worked double shifts at the hospital, and babysat. During World War II, he was a US Army PFC at University of Oregon Medical School, graduating in 1947 at age 24. After residency training, Dr. Hoskins practiced in Oregon City until he was called back into the army during the Korean Conflict (1950 to 1953). He reestablished the military hospital at Tooele (Utah) Ordnance Depot, supplying every aspect of that medical facility. He was then a line surgeon at 8076 M*A*S*H in Korea which provided him with invaluable surgical experience.
Discharged from the service, Dr. Hoskins opened an office and hospital practice in Watsonville, CA, where he delivered babies, performed tonsillectomies and other surgeries, made house calls and covered emergencies. He was president of the Santa Cruz Medical Society. He valued family practice because in addition to providing a wide variety of health services, it enabled him to be present for significant landmarks in his patients’ lives.
In 1971, he moved to Eugene to be near his brother, Dr. Blaine Hoskins. He continued a Board-certified family practice in Eugene and Springfield until he was 70; then he worked at Volunteers in Medicine from 2000 to 2005.
He formed Springfield Family Physicians with Dr. Patricia Ahlen in 1984, attracting outstanding physicians some of whom continue the group to this day. He was aided during those years by nurse Marlene Ross, “the best.” He visited his patients at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center every day, never missing a call from the Emergency Room. He was also Chief of Staff at that hospital.
Wes married Joanna Thorpe Colin in 1972. She subsequently obtained her Masters and PhD at U of Oregon. She practiced psychology at Cascade Health (DIRECTION) until late 2017. Their enthusiasms include a large family, the Oregon Bach Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Eugene Ballet. The children in their shared family include: Mary Elizabeth Hoskins of Ashland, Lawrence Wayne Hoskins (Reno), Jonathan Hoskins (British Columbia, Canada), Alan Laine Hoskins (Perth, Australia), Shannon Ann Lambertson (Battle Ground, WA), Carole Glenn (Poulsbro, WA), and Lauren Farr (Watsonville, CA.) A son, Brian, died in infancy and a step-son, Jeffrey Glenn died in 2014. Other close family members are Blaine Hoskins, MD, brother, and Nancy Hoskins of Eugene and LaVerne Hoskins Smith, sister, of Salem.
Dr. Hoskins was active in numerous areas during a long life. He was a champion horseman during many years of breeding and showing Arab horses. He also belonged to Alpha Omega Alpha (medical scholastic honorary), American Academy of Family Physicians, the V.F.W., USA Dance (ballroom dancing), Arabian Horse Breeders of Oregon, Blue Mountain Heritage Society of Dayton, WA, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Central Presbyterian Church.
“I admired the beauty when I was human. Now I am part of that beauty.”
~ Robinson Jeffers
A memorial will be announced at a later date.
If you wish to make a contribution in Dr. Hoskins’ memory, he would encourage a donation to the Pete Moore Hospice House: https://cascadehealth.org/foundation/online-donation/ or Volunteers in Medicine: https://vim-clinic.org/donate/
And please complete your Advance Directive!
http://www.caringinfo.org/files/public/ad/California.pdf
