Dr. Frances Almeda Cline, age 104 of Rhinelander, died Saturday, November 27, 2004.

Dr. Cline was born on May 25, 1900 in Calhoun, Illinois, the firstborn of George and Julia Cline. She graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago on September 1, 1930. She interned at Memorial Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, receiving her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Illinois. She completed her residency at the T. B. League in Pittsburgh. She was a Maternal and Child Health Physician, holding baby centers in rural sections of Wisconsin from 1932-1938. She graduated from John Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1938 receiving her certification in Public Health. She received the Wisconsin State Board of Examiners and was appointed District Health Officer in 1939, with an office in Rhinelander. Dr. Cline held this position until June 16, 1954 when she went to Woodruff for the summer to study the gift of Dr. Kate Newcomb. It was her privilege to spend 5 1/2 months with Dr. Newcomb before starting her family practice on January 1, 1955 which were the happiest and most satisfying years of her life. Dr. Cline closed her practice on March 1, 1980.

She is survived by her niece, Joanne Durchslag, of Redwood, California.

She was preceded in death by her parents; three sisters, Polly and Helen Cline, and Ruth Lamb; and her brother, Howard Cline.  

Northwoods River News, The (Rhinelander, WI) - Tuesday, November 30, 2004