MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota medical community is mourning the loss of Dr. Charles Crutchfield, a noted dermatologist who died this week of cancer at the age of 62.
Crutchfield will be remembered as a physician, author, teacher, mentor, inventor and world-renowned expert on skin conditions, especially those experienced by African-American persons.
"There’s not enough space on the walls of his office for all the awards he’s won over the years for being a top doctor in his field," reflected Darrin Rosha, an attorney and former Minnesota Regent who’s known Dr. Crutchfield for 30 years.
Indeed, the Crutchfield Dermatology website is filled with links to articles quoting or profiling him. And his YouTube home page is loaded with interviews and testimonials.
"His intelligence and his work ethic were unmatched. I mean, try to keep up with this guy. It was just amazing, his ability to be involved in so many things and be excellent at all of them," said Rosha.
Crutchfield was not only an avid sports fan, he was also the team dermatologist for Minnesota’s top professional teams.
"If you were fortunate enough to be invited by Charles to the Twins or Vikings or Wild or Timberwolves there was a good chance you were going to lose your partner because he was going to get a call down to the locker room, because he was the team dermatologist on call for those teams," Rosha said.
As Dr. Crutchfield fought for his life at the Mayo Clinic, the Twins lifted his spirits with some video messages from Brian Buxton, Jorge Polanco, and Rocco Baldelli wishing him well.
Dr. Inell Rosario said she was still trying to come to grips with the loss of a man who mentored her for years and was a personal friend.
"I always expected him to come through and I'm getting by really by focusing on what he would want," said Rosario.
Dr. Rosario said as recently as the NBA playoffs the two were still trading text messages.
"There are many late night and midnight texts between the two of us talking about the games, even that last game between the Nuggets and Miami," Rosario recalled. "I texted him about the outcome and he texted me back from his hospital bed."
She said Crtuchfield supplied her with encouragement and advice about going into private practice, which is increasingly rare in medicine.
"He’ll be remembered well into the future because of the impact he's had on people's lives of all different walks of life, whether it's a student that's interested in medicine and how much he tried to do everything to make sure they got exposure working in his office, mentoring them in many different ways," Rosario said.
Another thing Rosario noted about Dr. Crutchfield was that he always managed to pay for meals before she had a chance to grab the check, and was never "somewhere else."
"When you're with him you're with him. Some people you speak to are looking at their phones or looking away," Rosario said. "But what time you've got with him he's with you. There's eye contact. He's present in the moment."
Rosha teared up as he talked about Crutchfield’s rare combination of talent and warmth as a person.
"I can hear him laughing at me right now and saying, ‘Hang in there, hang in there.’" Rosha said. "He was just a wonderful friend. I’m just really blessed."
One patient we met in the parking lot of Crutchfield's Eagan clinic was crying, saying he was the only doctor who found good ways to treat skin problems he'd dealt with all his life.
Crutchfield came from a medical family. His parents, Charles Crutchfield and Susan Ellis-Crutchfield were both physicians. In fact, Susan Ellis-Crutchfield was the first black woman to graduate from the University of Minnesota Medical School and at age 22, the youngest person to get a medical degree from the U of M.
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