Dr. Homer T Caston was born on January 1, 1925, in Los Angeles, California, to Samuel and Ruth Darlene Cox-Caston. He died peacefully at home with family at his side, in Prior Lake, Minnesota, on October 22, 2022, at the age of 97.
Homer was the seventh born of eleven children. He grew up on a farm in the east San Fernando Valley of Southern California. His father was a sweet potato farmer, and along with his siblings, Homer learned how to farm at a young age, which included picking crops at surrounding ranches. He attended school in the San Fernando Valley and graduated from San Fernando High School.
Homer enlisted in the United States Army Air Corp. at the age of eighteen and served as an officer and pilot during World War Two. After completing his training in the states, he flew B-25 and A-26 bombers, doing search and rescue missions in Fukuoka, Okinawa, and Japan. After the war he joined the Reserves and retired in 1956 with the rank of First Lieutenant, United States Army Reserve.
After returning from Japan, Homer attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, with the help of the G.I. Bill. It was there he met his first wife, Diane Tiedemann, who was also a student at U.C. Davis studying to be a teacher. Homer and Diane married in 1952, and they lived in campus housing until they had both graduated.
After graduation, Homer and Diane moved to Napa, Idaho, where he worked mostly with large animals. From there they moved back to California to El Centro, where he opened his first small animal clinic. He was instrumental in minimizing a rabies epidemic in the area, working tirelessly at containing and treating the affected animals. After leaving El Centro, California, in 1963, he and Diane moved to the Conejo Valley, where he eventually opened Anza Animal Clinic, located in Thousand Oaks, California and practiced until his retirement in the late 1980’s. They moved to Thousand Oaks Ranch where Diane purchased property in Lynn Ranch where they built their home and raised their daughters Amy and Carolyn.
Coming from a farming family, Homer made certain there was always a garden for his young family, to produce fruits and vegetables year-round. He also continued his love for farming by purchasing 95 acres in the Santa Rosa Valley of Camarillo, California, and called it the Star Christmas Tree Farm. He grew and sold Christmas trees as well as pumpkins on this family run farm and donated a percentage of the sales to the Conejo Valley YMCA.
He and Diane spent a considerable amount of time in Yosemite National Park, before they were married and continued their visits after their girls came along. He was also involved with Thousand Oaks Toastmasters, was a leader in Timber 4-H, taught Veterinary Science, was a member of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Posse, and a member of the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (the organization focuses on saving and improving lives through better nutrition).
In 1999 Homer’s wife, Diane, passed away from a lengthy illness.
Over the years, Homer had several outside interests which included flying glider airplanes, golfing, horseback riding, and hiking with daughters Amy and Carolyn, and mountain climbing with his good friend Russell Huse. Together he and Huse, climbed Mt. San Gorgonio, Mt. San Jacinto, and Mt. Whitney. Homer personally climbed Mt. Whitney five times. He also went on several white-water rafting trips with his dear friend Dr. Charlie Nelson, who was a fellow veterinarian and classmate from the University of California at Davis.
Homer married Helen Winick on March 11, 2000, on his beautiful farm in Camarillo, California. Helen had been a veterinary client of his many years earlier. They reconnected while on a medical mission trip to Morazán Honduras. In 2006, Helen took him to her home state of Minnesota. He fell in love with the place and the people, and they eventually became snowbirds dividing time between Minnesota and California. The two of them spent time traveling to Europe and around the United States and immensely enjoyed their golden years together. They were extremely active, and everyone was surprised when they found out their ages!
Homer was always adventurous. At the age of 82, he and his brother John, (age 84), built an ultra-light airplane which they flew together for several years. One of Homer’s big dreams was to experience a winter in Minnesota, which finally happened in 2021-22, and he absolutely loved it. A couple of highlights were enjoying his Rotary club members, caroling at the house, and for his 97 th birthday he crossed his fingers and hoped the temperature would not go above zero. That night the low temperature was 13 degrees below zero and the high during the day did not go above zero.
Homer was a member of Rotary International for over 65 years. He was initially a member of the Westlake Village Rotary Club, having served as president and being very involved over the years with Conejo Valley Days (an annual celebration of Conejo Valley’s rich heritage and volunteer spirit). However, once he began attending meetings with the Prior Lake Rotary Club, they joyfully welcomed him as an honorary member.
Through Rotary, he was able to contribute financially to help with the eradication of polio. This was a cause near and dear to his heart, going back as far as 1935, when his sister introduced him to her friend Cecil, who had been a polio victim for 35 years. Over the years the memory of Cecil had touched Homer’s heart and was his inspiration. Homer not only donated money to end Polio, but he also spent time vaccinating people in Central and South America on medical mission trips that he went on over the years with Helen.
Another of Homer’s greater accomplishments was a paper he wrote in the 1970’s on feline cystitis, which was not only published in Veterinary medical journals, but also continues to be referenced worldwide in Veterinary schools to this day.
Homer is preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, Sam, Arthur, and Clinton; his sisters, Dorothy, Ernestine, Roberta, Thursel, and Darlene; and his first wife Diane Caston.
He is survived by his brother, John Caston, and sister Julie Ann Keith; his wife Helen, his loving daughters ; Amy Robertson, and Carolyn Wright. Grandchildren ; Ryder Robertson, Carlie, and Delanie Wright. Stepchildren ; Mark (Myrna) Winick, Patricia Winick, Mike (Carol) Winick, Karyn (Gary) Perkins, and Kathy Kerner. Step-grandchildren ; Karis (Seth Colegrove) Craig, Siri (Michael) Wilhelm, Justin (Shannon Halbach) Winick, Matthew (Devaki) Winick, Brianna (Bien) Paulino. Step-great-grandchildren : Kiersten and Anna Winick, Theo and Rowen Wilhelm, Kaiya and Suri Winick, Kinsey Gopher, Evelyn, Trey, and Vivian Paulino.
Homer was a loving, generous, witty, and hardworking man, husband, father, and friend. He made many friends along the way during his life’s journey, and never said a bad thing about anyone. He will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to know him.
Memorial Services:
Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Prior Lake, MN, November 10, 2022, at 2:00 PM
Ascension Lutheran Church, Thousand Oaks, CA, will be determined later.
