Motion is lotion that keeps Idaho physician moving
By Dianna Troyer
Ask Dr. Don Pates, how he’s doing and be prepared for a rapid-fire answer that blends the tongue-tied phraseology of Mary Poppins, the magical flamboyance of Mr. Magorium, and the humor and high energy level of Dr. Patch Adams.
“I’m supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, absotively, positively, finger-lickin’ super good, no aches, no pain or stoop or squat or squint,” says the family practice physician who works in his clinic behind the Minidoka Memorial Hospital in Rupert. “How about you?”
What flamboyant event is he planning to celebrate h
is 86th birthday on Feb. 24? Maybe take a spin on his gold-colored 2006 Honda Gold Wing touring motorcycle? Or cruise down his favorite ski run at Pomerelle Ski Area, where he has been an instructor for several years?
“I’ll come to work like I always do,” says Dr. Pates, who works four mornings a week at his clinic and also serves as hospice medical advisor for Minidoka Home Health. “I have two partners: one young enough to be a grandson and the other the age of a son, if I had one.
In 2009, the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians honored Dr. Pates, recognizing him as the oldest practicing family doctor in the state.
“Working here gives me a good reason to get up in the morning, and besides, I really love what I do,” says the tall, slender, blue-eyed doctor with a white goatee, as he relaxes in his office with photos of horses and Native American memorabilia decorating his walls. “With family practice, you never know what type of case will come through the door, so there’s a lot of variety and challenge.”
He attributes his longevity to keeping mentally and physically active, having an optimistic attitude, trusting in his spiritual faith, and inheriting his mother’s genetics.
“She lived to almost 102,” says Dr. Pates. “I was lucky she passed on her gene pool to me. You have to keep your brain and your muscles working, too. You use it, or lose it.”
Those attitudes helped him during the past decades, working as combat medic in Europe during World War II, graduating from medical school, starting a career and family, and having two wives die of illness.
“Having a sense of humor and a strong faith are important, too. I trust that God knows what he’s doing,” says Dr. Pates, who attends Trinity Lutheran Church in Rupert. “I’ve been in some car, motorcycle, and ski wrecks and have come out OK.”
Dr. Pates, a native of Iowa, was drafted in World War II and assigned to be a combat medic in Europe. “I was in France, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria for six months.”
His war experience sparked his interest in a medical career. He enrolled at the University of Iowa Medical School, where he met his wife of 49 years, Elaine, a registered nurse.
“We almost made it to 50 years, when she died of cancer,” he says.
After graduating in 1951, Dr. Pates worked in Belding, Michigan for 18 years in a solo practice. “We had three daughters, and by the late 1960s, the drug scene was hitting, and I didn’t want our daughters to be raised in that type of area.”
He found a job in Alamogordo, N.M., but he and his family were discontent living there. “It was dry, windy, dusty, and hot, and besides that, my partners didn’t want to let me deliver babies, which I love, so I started looking around again in the West. I found a job here in Rupert in 1971 and have been here ever since.”
His daughters have ended up working in the medical field, too. “Carla is an occupational therapist, Karen is a registered nurse, and Colleen is a medical transcriptionist.”
Dr. Pates is as passionate about his adrenalin-inducing hobbies of skiing and motorcycle riding as he is about his profession.
“When we lived in Michigan, the girls wanted to learn to ski at a small area about 15 miles from our house. Elaine and I got tired of sitting in the lodge watching them, so when I turned 40, I took my first ski lesson and have been skiing ever since.”
He always loved motorcycles, too. “I learned in the 1930s, even though I didn’t own one at the time. I was on the basketball team, and some seniors had a big Harley and an Indian, so they taught me. Once our girls were grown, I started riding again in the 1980s.”
In summers, he leaves the practice to his partners and takes off several weeks with his wife Jeanne to go on a 1,000-mile motorcycle trip with friends or relatives.
“A few years ago, I had the Gold Wing made into a trike for better stability on road trips. We’ve been sightseeing up the West Coast, in Arizona, Michigan, and up into Canada. I still have a 500 CC sport bike for around town,” adds Dr. Pates, who wears a white cotton jumpsuit and gold-colored helmet.
His other hobbies are square dancing with his daughter Colleen in the River Reelers and golfing.
As for retirement, Dr. Pates jokes that people will know he has retired when they read his obituary. “We keep getting older, but we don’t have to act old. Try to be optimistic about your future.”
