The Purdue Veterinary Medicine family is saddened by the passing of an alumnus who was in the college’s sixth graduating class, Dr. Charles Sink, of Peoria, Ariz. He was 77.
Raised in Frankfort, Ind., Dr. Sink came from a long line of farmers. According to a biography posted on the website for the Grand Paws Animal Clinic, a practice that he founded in retirement, Dr. Sink was just a farm boy from Indiana at heart. While helping on the family farm at the young age of five, he developed his passion for caring for animals and nursing them back to health. Fascinated by medicine, he became a trusty assistant to the area veterinarian and then went on to enroll in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1968.
After graduation, Dr. Sink began working in private practice in a small animal veterinary hospital in the Chicago area. A year later, he purchased the hospital with his classmate, the late Dr. James Scott.
The practice grew rapidly, leaving the two veterinarians wishing for more time to spend with their young families. When they spotted an ad for a practice for sale in Cheyenne, Wyo., they hastily arranged a plane trip, purchased the practice and moved their families to the western state. There they were able to grow the practice without sacrificing the time that they wanted to spend hunting, fishing, camping, and skiing with their children.
Dr. Sink remained in Wyoming until 1999, when he sold the practice and moved to Arizona to be closer to his children and grandchildren. Being semi-retired and not wishing to open a new practice on his own, he opted to join a national corporation and worked for the chain of animal hospitals for five years before choosing to fully retire.
That retirement ended relatively quickly, however. Dr. Sink found that he missed the cats and dogs, the surgeries, and the people. So he and his wife decided to open a new practice, and in 2008 established Grand Paws Animal Clinic in Sun City, near Phoenix, with three staff members. Once again, Dr. Sink was in a rapidly growing practice with expanding caseload and staff. In 2014, Grand Paws relocated to a new, larger location nearby in Surprise, Ariz. and continued to flourish.
Dr. Sink spent a total of 53 years in small animal practice. He also was very active in numerous organizations and churches. Known as someone who “never met a stranger,” he particularly loved his time with North Christian Church, Church of Christ in Cheyenne and serving the Wyoming Veterinary Medical Association, as well as the Cheyenne Frontier Days PR Committee.
In the Phoenix area, Dr. Sink was an active member of Christ Church of the Valley – Peoria and traveled frequently with groups there. He had a particular zeal for working with the Rapha House, an organization that is committed to the prevention of sex trafficking and sexual abuse of young women in Cambodia and Thailand.
Dr. Sink will be remembered as a dedicated veterinarian who lived life well with passion and zest. He will be missed by many.
A celebration of life will be held on the afternoon of October 1 at Christ Church of the Valley in Peoria, Ariz. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Dr. Sink’s memory to Rapha House, via Rapha International.
