About UsCurtis Climer, MD, MS I was Born September 1955 at Silverton Hospital. I spent most of my life growing up in Salem, Oregon, except for the two years when we lived in Seattle, Washington. I graduated from North Salem High School in 1973. I attended what is now called Western Oregon University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, with Honors, in Mathematics and Biology in 1977. I went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, completing a program that would now be called a Master of Counseling degree in 1978. I went on to medical school at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, completing the Doctor of Medicine program in 1982. I took my residency training in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital, in Portland, Oregon, from 1982 to 1985. I stayed on an additional year as a Chief resident from 1985 to 1986. I then had an obligation to repay the government for helping to pay for my medical school education. I owed time to the National Health Service Corps. I repaid my debt working as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, attached to the Indian Health Service. I spent two years in Owyhee, Nevada, working on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, as well as several other small reservations and colonies in Elko and Duckwater, Nevada. I then transferred to Wyoming, where I spent two years working on the Wind River Indian Reservation, at principally the Arapahoe Clinic and sometimes at the Fort Washakie Clinic. I was the Chief Medical Officer while serving there. We lived in Lander, Wyoming. We then returned home to Oregon. I stayed with the Public Health Service for an additional year, working at the Federal Penitentiary in Sheridan, Oregon. It was a fascinating experience to work in a prison. However, it did not seem quite like what I really wanted to do. I began searching about for opportunities in private practice. Silverton was seeking an internist, and as they say, "The rest is history". I have been practicing in Silverton since June of 1991. I have been married to my wife, Deborah Chapin Climer, of Canby, Oregon, since March of 1978. We have a lovely daughter, Ariel, born in Portland in 1984. Our son, Benjamin, was born in 1987 at the Mountain Home Air Force Base, while we were serving in Owyhee, Nevada. We finished restoring the old family place in 1996. It is located in St. Louis, Oregon. It is one of the oldest homes in Oregon, having been the original rectory to the Catholic Mission at St. Louis. It was built around 1845, and it has been kept in near original condition. We have taken the liberty of adding a modern foundation, electricity, and plumbing. My wife thought the outhouse was a bit much, and the county was appalled to find there was still a functioning outhouse anywhere in the county in 1993. We live on a couple acres, have lots of old fruit and nut trees. I like to garden each year. We've had several pets over the years, but now have only a number of feral cats. Our beloved donkey, Charlie, died in the winter of 2009 after many years of faithful loving service to us. I still miss him a great deal. My wife says I am a closet farmer, which she did not realize until many years into our marriage. I spend a lot of time reading. I especially enjoy science and mathematics, as well as epic fantasy and techno-thrillers. I spend a fair amount of time working on music, including my modest guitar skills, a budding banjo skill, and my one natural talent in life which is playing the harmonica. I write music using a computer. I also write a great deal in the form of journaling since age 15, I am working on my second play, and have been working on the "great American novel" for several years. These "little" projects take forever given my need to keep up with medicine. My great passion in life is hunting. A bad day hunting is better than the best day of work. We attend the Silverton Friend's (Quaker) Church. We are born again Christians and very active in our faith. I highly recommend Silverton Friend's Church. If you are looking for a place to fellowship, drop by. I was raised Catholic, and I also recommend the St. Louis or Gervais Catholic Parrishes as being good places, too. In about 2000, I took up painting. It is a mid-life sort of a deal. I was never much attracted to making art. One day, I heard this sort of yearning cry coming up within me to paint. I wondered where such a feeling would come from? I did not know. I only felt I must do this new thing. Some people say I am an artist, have always been an artist, that it is my true self. I am still unsure how to respond to such comments. I only know there are times now when I must paint, draw, color, or whatever. It all feels very personal to me. I do love the smell of oil paint though. I like how it feels, how it spreads and blends. It is an amazing amount of fun. I put up a little gallery of images if you would like to see some of my dabbling, Climer Gallery.
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