J. Lee Calvert M.D.

J. Lee Calvert , M.D., age 78, of Grants Pass, died March 17, 2023 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

He was born James Lee Calvert on September 6, 1944, in Oakland CA to Jesse Rea Calvert and Annabel (Gray). He was raised in Grants Pass and graduated from Grants Pass High School in 1962. He attended Stanford University where he earned an M.S. in Electrical Engineering. In 1972 he graduated from Stanford Medical School and began his internship and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Santa Clara, CA. He worked as a Kaiser staff physician specializing in Internal Medicine for 16 years.

In 1988, Lee returned to his hometown of Grants Pass. In his private practice he shared on-call duties with Drs Don Sand, George Bailey and Roger Steinbrenner at Southern Oregon Medical Center. Lee was a founding member of the MidRogue Independent Physician’s Association (MRIPA). In 2003 Lee received the Rogue Award for Health Care.

Until Lee experienced a major stroke in March 2014, he cared for his patients at his office as well as admitting them to the hospital and managing their care there. He was one of the last doctors in our County to care for his own inpatients.

He served as the Medical Director for Lovejoy Hospice for over 20 years, working closely with local pharmacist Michelle Belcher in supporting patients with end of life care.

His hobbies included reading & Bible study, working on his medical economics research paper, listening to classical and jazz music as well as camping and exploring nature with his family. He enjoyed painting ocean waves, and life on his rural Josephine County acreage. He loved watching hummingbirds, deer grazing in the pasture, jackrabbits racing thru the woods, wild turkeys & the annual return of Canadian geese couples to nest on top of the chicken coop.

Survivors include his wife Kirby A Erickson of Grants Pass; children Sonya McCathey-Kent (Lindsay Kent) of York SC, Jason Earl Calvert (Lorraine McGuinness) of Marshfield MA, Benjamin Taylor Calvert (Daniel Arizmendi) of Oakland CA, Daniel Gray Calvert (Amanda Petersen) of Braintree VT and Emily Anna Calvert of Grants Pass; Lee’s brothers Jesse “Terry” R. Calvert III of Grants Pass, Steven Calvert of Grants Pass, Brian Calvert of Gales Creek, William Calvert of Florence, and step-brother Jack Davis of Grants Pass; and grandsons James Quimby and Jesse Quimby. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his step-mother Jeanne Calvert.

A celebration of life will be at 1:00 p.m., Friday, March 24, 2023 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on the corner of 4th and D Street with Rev. Ernestein C. Flemister, officiant. Private interment will follow at 3:00 p.m. at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Grants Pass.

Remembrances may be made to Josephine Community Library Foundation, PO Box 1684, Grants Pass, Oregon 97528, phone 541.476.0571.