POTSDAM -- Carole Stretton Beldon of Sarasota, Fla. and her children, Allyson Beldon and Jack Beldon II, have provided a generous gift to Canton-Potsdam Hospital to open a new ultrasound room.

Beldon is the daughter of the late obstetrician Ernest Stretton, who practiced medicine in Canton from the 1930’s until 1973. Her gift was made in memory of both her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Ernest and Edith Stretton and will name the ultrasound room at the St. Lawrence Health System Medical Campus building on Route 11 in Canton.

St. Lawrence Health System officials said the amount is being kept private.

In 1938, Dr. Ernest Stretton and his wife, Edith, settled in Canton after he completed his medical training at Columbia University, to open his medical practice. Stretton strongly believed that continuing his education would advance the care he gave to his patients. His commitment to learning resulted in Stretton being one of the first doctors in the United States to practice spinal anesthesiology in obstetrics, after attending a special seminar on spinal anesthesiology at the University of Memphis in Tennessee.

Among his many accomplishments, Stretton received citations from three presidents: Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson, for his contributions to the medical society in helping the U.S. government at Pine Camp, now known as Fort Drum. He was community minded, serving as the health officer for the Town of Canton, and President of the St. Lawrence Golf and Country Club; and he was active with the St. Lawrence County Cancer Society, receiving a leadership citation from the society’s board.

After leaving her childhood home of Canton, Beldon studied at Syracuse University and Columbia University Teachers College, where she met her husband, Jack Beldon. In support of his career with Goodyear International, the Beldons traveled extensively together with their children until his passing. These assignments included: Cali, Columbia; Lima, Peru; Casablanca, Morocco; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Columbia; Istanbul, Turkey; and ultimately the United Kingdom. In each of these countries, Beldon joined the International Women’s Club, an organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service and philanthropy.

Beldon now lives in Sarasota, but she regularly returns to her childhood home in Canton to spend time with great friends and revel in the progressive changes that have occurred in the community since her early years.

“We are delighted to acknowledge this generous gift from Mrs. Beldon,” said Canton-Potsdam Hospital CEO David B. Acker said in a news release. “This gift represents the Stretton family’s fine tradition of promoting quality healthcare in St. Lawrence County, and helps to strengthen the foundation on which that care is delivered.”

“My father’s passion for caring for others impressed upon me the importance of giving back to community,” Beldon said in the release. “This gift allows me to remember my parents and provide support for healthcare in the community that was important to us.