Geneva doctor Ashby dies at 88
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BY JOANIE CRADICK AND ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star
For the first time in 123 years, Fillmore County residents can no longer call a Dr. Ashby for help.
Dr. Charles Ashby of Geneva, the third member of a well-known line of physicians in the county, died late Thursday at age 88.
Ashby was “almost like a father figure to a lot of people,” said Marirose Fox, Ashby’s physician assistant for nearly two decades.
Her words echoed those of many of the rural doctor’s friends and coworkers.
Describing Ashby, the word “interested” was used often.
“He was truly interested in people,” said Dr. John Jacobsen, who worked with Ashby at the Fillmore County Medical Center. “He was genuinely interested in people’s lives.”
There were a lot of lives to keep track of; Ashby delivered three generations of children.
Starting with his great-uncle Sherman Ashby and continuing with his father, members of the Ashby family have treated patients in the county since 1885.
That year Sherman Ashby, headed west, stopped in a Fairmont train depot, when a resident ran into the depot frantically searching for a doctor.
Sherman delivered a baby and — long story short — ended up staying in Fairmont.
“There's been a Dr. Ashby here forever and ever,” said Jan Myers, who was Charles Ashby’s office nurse for more than 19 years. “He was very interested in your family and your life — just a wonderful person. It will be a great community loss.
Ashby earned each of his degrees in Nebraska, including his medical degree in 1942.
He served as a physician on a destroyer in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
In 1947, he left the Navy and began working with his father.
Shorty after, the two opened an office in Geneva.
The younger Ashby later donated the Fairmont office, now a museum, to the Fillmore County Historical Society.
His private practice in Geneva combined with the Fillmore County Medical Center in 2003, but Ashby kept his familiar small-town doctor’s attitude.
“When he made rounds at the hospital, he talked to everybody, not just his patients,” said Jacobsen, who got close to Ashby after the 2003 merger. “People really liked that, that he took the time out of his day to do that.”
Ashby was also close to his fellow doctors, and became a respected figure in the office.
He and Jacobsen would have “reality talks” about community members, new patients and happenings in town.
“He was a one of a kind. Probably the biggest thing is that he practiced more the art of medicine rather than...” Jacobsen said, choking up for a few second.
“Basically, in medical school they don’t teach you how to treat the psyche of people, I guess,” he continued. That was something Ashby excelled at.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at United Church of Christ in Geneva. Visitation is from 1 to 8 p.m. Monday at Farmer & Son Funeral Home in Geneva.
Reach Joanie Cradick at dc34702@alltel.net. Reach Zach Pluhacek at 473-7306 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.
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