Update Monday, October 3: Dr. Huntoon’s clinic is now closed for business though the office staff is still making and receiving calls from patients with any questions.
Reader Janna wrote to tell us that she had read in the Times earlier in the week that Dr. Jenefer S. Huntoon had passed away on September 21. Dr. Huntoon was a naturopath here in Wallingford, with offices on the SW corner of 45th and Interlaken. You can view her obituary from the Seattle Times here. A memorial service was held earlier in the week at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard.
I spoke with Camden, one of Dr. Huntoon’s assistants who told me that her passing was very sudden and unexpected. Dr. Huntoon had been working and seeing patients, and her passing was a great shock to everyone.
Camden also said that she and Shiree (another assistant in the office) have been making calls to patients letting them know of Dr. Huntoon’s passing. Though this was Dr. Huntoon’s private practice, Camden noted that “There are physicians who are making themselves available, so we are open and the staff is here to talk with patients.”
We wish all of Dr. Huntoon’s patients, colleagues, family, and friends our deepest sympathies.
I wasn’t a patient, but was so sad to see her obituary. She’s been a neighborhood fixture as long as I’ve lived here.
Thank you for this very nice article. Please note that Dr. Huntoon’s practice is re-opening and will begin seeing patients again on Monday, November 7, 2011. We have a new physician/medical director, Ellen Sauter, ND. The clinic staff will continue in their roles, with Camden as naturopathic assistant, Shiree as administrative assistant and Victoria as hydrotherapist. In honor of Dr. Huntoon’s legacy the clinic name will soon be changed to Jenefer Huntoon Memorial Clinic.
As some of you may know, there has been a naturopathic clinic at this location since 1956, when it was occupied as the Seattle campus for National College of Naturopathic Medicine. NCNM was Dr. Huntoon’s alma mater, and soon after the college moved to Portland in 1978, she established her own clinic here. She practiced here in Wallingford 34 years, and will be sorely missed.