[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E180-E181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DR. WILLIAM CATON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JUDY CHU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2020

  Ms. JUDY CHU of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life of Dr.

[[Page E181]]

William Caton, who passed away on February 6, 2020 at the age of 74. 
Dr. Caton was a lifelong leader in the field of neurosurgery and led a 
distinguished career that had lasting impacts on my district in the San 
Gabriel Valley and throughout California.
   Dr. Caton was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 7, 1945 and 
spent his childhood in Georgia and Massachusetts. He received his 
bachelor's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and 
then moved to California to attend medical school at the University of 
Southern California (USC) School of Medicine. He received his M.D. in 
1971 and completed his residency in Neurosurgery at the Los Angeles 
County--USC Medical Center in 1977. After completing his residency, Dr. 
Caton began his practice in Pasadena, a community he would serve for 
the next forty years.
   Dr. Caton's dedication to his patients earned him the reputation as 
one of the top neurosurgeons in California. He was a representative for 
the California Association of Neurological Surgery (CANS) at National 
State Council meetings for twenty-five years and served as President 
from 2009 to 2010. He also represented CANS in meetings with LA County 
that resulted in developing a county-wide system of trauma care centers 
in 1983. He was appointed to serve as Chairman of Neurosurgery at 
Huntington Memorial Hospital, the leading trauma center within the San 
Gabriel Valley, a position he would hold for over twenty years. His 
work was also well known around the globe. He collaborated on a project 
in Bangalore, India, where he advised the development of a brain cancer 
treatment center, and he created an international symposium on 
healthcare, also located in India.
   He was a strong advocate for higher education and passed his 
knowledge on to multiple generations of students. For almost forty 
years, he was a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Neurological 
Surgery Department at USC. He was also a long-time faculty member at 
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the Department of 
Biology and Bioengineering. While there, he founded the Caltech 
Students Medical Mentor Program, served as director of the Caltech 
M.D.-Ph.D. Clinical Outreach Program, and became director of the 
Pasadena Neuroscience Fellowship. Because of his distinguished service 
and contributions to higher education, Dr. Caton received an honorary 
graduate degree from the Caltech Alumni Association in 2008. 
Additionally, he was a strong advocate for the education of women and 
served on the Board of Trustees for Mayfield Senior High School, an 
all-girls college preparatory high school, from 1986 to 1997.
   Dr. Caton leaves behind an enduring legacy of service, patient 
advocacy, and leadership to the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County, 
and California. He is an inspiration to all who knew him, and it is my 
distinct honor to commemorate his life.

                          ____________________