Dr. Charles W. Parton of Mill River died on Oct. 30. He was 98.

He grew up in Bronxville, N.Y., graduated from Kenyon College and earned his medical degree at Cornell University.

Charlie’s first career was as a pediatric surgeon in Hartford, Conn. From 1963 to 1965, he was director of the Peace Corps program in North Borneo.

After spending summers on the Vineyard for many years, he and his wife Teena moved to West Tisbury and took over ownership of Alley’s General Store in 1980. For two years, Charlie continued working as an administrator and director of Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford, while also teaching at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the University of Hartford graduate school. He would return on weekends to help Teena with the store.

In 1986, they sold the business to Howard and Susan Ulfelder and went on to raise sheep in North Carolina. In 1992, he published From Sanderson’s to Alley’s: A Biography of the West Tisbury General Store.

In addition to his loving wife, Teena, he leaves behind a large family and many friends.