Dr. Charles Crutchfield III, Minnesota's first Black dermatologist, dies at 62

Brenda Starr was in Dr. Charles Crutchfield's office for a follow-up dermatology appointment a couple years ago when she overheard him in the corridor outside the exam room.

"He said, 'I'm going to go in [alone], because she's going to cry,'" Starr recalled.

The bad news wasn't her test results, but his. And she did, indeed, cry.

"He created that space for me," said Starr, who counted Crutchfield as her doctor, neighbor and friend. "After asking about me, he held my hands and said, 'I am going to beat this.'"

Crutchfield, Minnesota's first Black dermatologist who counted the Minnesota Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves and Wild among his clients, died June 21 after a more than two-year battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 62.

To patients, he was the dogged physician who would tirelessly research a skin condition before often creating his own formula for an ointment. To friends, he was warm, caring and generous. To family, he was a jokester, an artist and a playful big brother. To medical students — especially students of color — he was inspiring and empowering. And to readers of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, he was the doctor whose prose deciphered the complexities of conditions like COVID and high blood pressure.

"Charles had an impact on so many. He fought to save lives during his time on Earth and will be greatly missed by his patients, friends and family," U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said on the House floor July 5. "Minnesota has lost a pioneering medical professional and a dedicated family man ... I extend my deepest condolences to Charles' family and my gratitude for all he has done to make our communities healthier."

Charles Crutchfield III was born Jan. 17, 1961, in Minneapolis, to doctors Charles Crutchfield and Susan Crutchfield Mitsch. He attended Minnehaha Academy and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by his senior class. He graduated with honors in 1978 and studied biology at Carleton College. He attended Mayo Clinic Medical School in Rochester before completing his dermatology residency at the University of Minnesota.

It was while he was in medical school that Crutchfield met his future wife, Laurie, his brother, Christopher, said. He saw her sitting on a bus stop bench and approached her with his "A-game." It worked so well that after they married in 1994 and got their first house, Crutchfield "went to the city of Rochester and he purchased the bench," Christopher Crutchfield said. "It went with them every time they moved."

The Crutchfields had three children — Olivia, Charles IV and Arianna.

Asked what people might not know about his big brother, Christopher Crutchfield said he loved pranks. He also loved hairless cats. One time, Charles Crutchfield was returning from visiting a breeder out west with a hairless cat. At baggage claim, he feigned shock at the look of his feline, shouting to airline employees: "Oh my God! What have you done to my cat?!"

Crutchfield founded the Crutchfield Dermatology clinic in Eagan in 2002. He served as president of the Minnesota Association of Black Physicians and taught at the University of Minnesota Medical School and Carleton College. His Crutchfield Dermatology Foundation created a lectureship to educate medical residents on treating patients with darker skin tones.

Robin Hickman-Winfield was a patient of Crutchfield's whose family had long ties to his. They attended the same church.

"My mother and his dad were like brother and sister," Hickman-Winfield said. Her husband, Steve Winfield, coached Crutchfield's son in baseball.

"This is really tough," Hickman-Winfield said, her voice choking with emotion. "He was a healer and an artist. Just a good man. Always a light."

Recently, she said, she attended Crutchfield's clinic after her a medical scare, and he developed an ointment for her. When she uses it, she said, "it's almost like meditating. This bottle is now sacred to me."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Crutchfield's "Doctor's Advice" column in the Spokesman-Recorder helped fight fear and misinformation, said Jerry Freeman, an editor at the newspaper. It was while the two were attending a Twins game that the idea for a medical column by Crutchfield and other Black doctors was first discussed, Freeman said.

"To me, that was a huge contribution to the community right there," he said.

Family members said Crutchfield cared for more than 50,000 patients during his career and authored hundreds of scientific papers, as well as a textbook.

Crutchfield was preceded in death by his grandparents and stepmother, Patricia Wilson Crutchfield. He is survived by his parents, Drs. Charles Sr. and Susan; his wife, Laurie; his children, Olivia, Charles IV and Arianna; his siblings Carleton, Christopher, Robert, Raushana and Rashad, and many nieces and nephews.

A private funeral service has been held. A celebration of life memorial service is being planned for later this summer.