Charles Eckford EASTIN

EASTIN Charles Eckford, DVM, ("Charlie"), son of Eckford Preston Eastin and Anna Lucile Asbury Eastin and husband of the late Betty Jane Downer Eastin, departed this life on Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:59pm. Dr. Eastin was born on Oct 11, 1924, in Lexington, KY. Dr. Eastin attended the University of Kentucky (1942-43 and 1946-47) and The Ohio State University (1947-51), where he received the B.S. in Agriculture degree in 1949 and the D.V.M. degree in 1951. He also engaged in post-graduate study in veterinary pathology at Ohio State University. In 1943, Dr. Eastin entered active service in the army. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to school. After graduating from veterinary school, he served as an Army Corps reserve officer (first lieutenant) from 1951-1962. Dr. Eastin was a Grantee of the Rockefeller Foundation for work on the Amazon Valley project in Brazil, July 1951-1952 where he studied the nutritional qualities of native Brazilian grasses using animal feeding trials and other research methods. From 1951-1953, he was a member of the faculty of the Institute Agronomico do Norte, Belem, Estado do Para, Brazil. While there, he assisted in organizing a School of Veterinary Medicine and conducted research on environmental adaptations and parasitism in cattle and water buffalo. In this work, he identified the first cases of trypanasomiasis in the Brazilian water buffalo. In 1952, Dr. Eastin was engaged in private equine and bovine veterinary practice in Kentucky and Virginia. He worked for Cooper Animal Hospital and Haggard, Davidson and McGee (Lexington). Later, he served as Fayette County livestock inspector. On Aug 18, 1955, he married Betty Jane Downer of Aliceville, AL at the Aliceville Methodist Church. Ms. Downer was a faculty member in the UK School of Home Economics and they were blessed with four daughters and one son. He was active in the Presbyterian Church and attended Walnut Hill Church and Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon and an Elder. His daughters were members of a youth group that helped to renovate Walnut Hill Church in the early 1970's, where he later dedicated a stained glass window in memory of his beloved wife. In recent years, he was known to regularly attend three church services at the two churches every Sunday. Dr. Eastin conducted nutrition research in the Department of Animal Science at UK and performed cutting-edge research in nutrition and other areas at the UK Agriculture Experiment Station and he performed some of the earliest abomasum and intestinal fistula surgeries of cattle. At the UK, Albert B. Chandler Medical Center, he served as Medical Center Veterinarian, and, in 1961, became the first veterinarian appointed to the staff of the Medical Center. In 1969, he was appointed the center's first Director of Laboratory Animal Care and was an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. He established and maintained a colony of Rhesus Monkeys and other primates for research on diseases of veterinary and public health importance. His other research work included histoplasmosis, retinal detachment, pulmonary hypertension, fetal development and cardiology. He was a contributor to the book "Legumes in Agriculture" (United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization publication no. 21, 1953) and "Histoplasmosis" (Charles Thomas Publishing Co, 1970). He has published articles in numerous journals, including the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Journal of Veterinary Research, The Journal of the American Small Animal Hospital Association, Archives of Environmental Health, Archives of Pathology, and The Bovine Practitioner. He has participated in numerous postgraduate veterinary conferences, and has spoken at llocal, state, national, and international veterinary meetings. In recent years, he has maintained his connection with the university by attending lectures regularly at the Gluck Equine Research Center, the Lexington Livestock Disease and Diagnostic Center, now the U.K. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and various classes and activities of the College of Agriculture, as well as other colleges. He helped establish and maintain the Betty D. Eastin Historic Costume Collection in the UK Department of Human Environmental Sciences in honor of his wife. The collection contains clothing of historical importance, including a number of inaugural gowns from Kentucky First Ladies. He was a University Fellow, a Friend of the UK College of Agriculture, and a Scovell Fellow of the UK College of Agriculture. Dr. Eastin maintained long-standing involvement in organized veterinary medicine at the local, state, and national levels. He was an active member of the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association and received the KVMA Distinguished Service Award in 2009. He was active in the American Veterinary Medical Association; American Association of Equine Practitioners; Alpha Psi (veterinary medicine fraternity), and served on many committees and councils. He served as president of the Central Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association in 1962-63. Dr. Eastin was a charter member of the Kentucky Livestock Improvement Association (KLIA), serving as Director and District President (late 1950's and early 1960's) and president (1965). In 1963, he was appointed to the Kentucky State Fair Board, representing the KLIA and was a very active board member serving 12 years. He was also appointed to the Governor's Council on Agriculture. Dr. Eastin served on the Fayette County 4-H Club Leader's Council, held membership in the Fayette County Registered Breeders Association (President, 1957), Block and Bridle (animal husbandry fraternity, where he served as treasurer), Alpha Gamma Rho (agriculture fraternity), Alpha Zeta (agriculture honorary), Lances (junior men's honorary at UK), Thoroughbred Club of America, Kentucky Angus Association, American Angus Association, American Brahma Breeders Association, and the United States Livestock Sanitary Association. Outside the realm of veterinary medicine and livestock, Dr. Eastin was a very active member of the Lexington Rotary Club for over 42 years. He worked faithfully on the Rotary Club's Worldview Program (which is an annual program held in collaboration with the UK Patterson School of Diplomacy at which high school students from across the state learn about an important timely topic from international speakers). HHe served as Vice President of the Lexington Junior Chamber of Commerce and was in charge of the local agriculture committee receiving the second place national award from the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1961, held the office of State Chairman of the Kentucky Junior Chamber of Commerce (1960-62) and was the recipient of the Outstanding State Chairman Award (1961). He has been a member of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. For many years, Dr. Eastin has been active in the National Farm-City Council (NFCC). He served as the 35th Chairman of the NFCC (1992-1994) and has chaired many committees. NFCC works to bring about better understanding between the rural and urban segments of American and Canadian society to strengthen these nations. They work through all media outlets to tell the agricultural story to city people, and the city business story to farmers. Every year, they sponsor National Farm-City Week in November. Through his efforts, Lexington hosted a NFCC National Conference in the early 1990's. As chairman of the Rural Urban Committee, he worked to build and maintain collaboration between the Lexington Rotary Club and UK to host activities to further National Farm-City Council goals during Farm-City Week every year. He had a long-standing interest in history. He was a member and has re