|
Light a Candle
Mark was intensely curious and excited about life. He had many interests and pursued them all passionately. He collected degrees: B.A., M.A., M.D. in internal medicine, PhD. in immunology, M.B.A., and J.D. And if he had had time, he would have gotten semicha (rabbinical degree).
At his essence, Mark considered himself a teacher. He loved discovery and explaining things to others. He tried to find analogies that would be enlightening. Mark participated in Toastmasters for three decades and mentored many members. In all areas of his life, he tried to help others as much as he could.
Mark donated blood or platelets to NY/NJ Blood Center as often as he could. For years he donated platelets every two weeks. He got an organ donor card, and gave financially to the Halachic Organ Donor Society. At Sandoz (now Novartis), he participated in working on the first transplantation drug, cyclosporin. [Ironically, he was not able to be an organ donor at the end of his life.] Mark worked at Novartis for 25 years in the areas of medical affairs, immunology, and transplantation. He enjoyed working on clinical trials, communicating with doctors about immunological products, teaching the sales force, and training up to six pharmacy interns at a time in each six-week rotation.
In retirement, Mark was busier than ever, participating fully in maintaining and supporting his synagogue, and animatedly lecturing to seniors on all sorts of different topics—medical, scientific, Jewish, and eclectic.
Mark had a black belt in karate, and co-taught others for many years.
He was a faithful member of a Second Generation Holocaust Survivors Group and fervently pursued researching his own family history.
He actively participated in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) groups and retreats, and worked on recognizing his own feelings and needs, and on connecting with others.
For several years in the Reading Buddies program, he enjoyed expressively reading many books to kindergartners, and books such as The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland to second graders in a local school.
He loved science fiction, especially Star Trek, Star Wars, and Dr. Who.
Mark protected himself and others by not shaking hands and by washing and sanitizing his hands. Among his papers were several copies of an article entitled “Banning the Handshake from the Healthcare Setting,” from JAMA 2014. Interestingly for the current times, for a while he participated in planning a STEM project called “How to Engineer a Pandemic Response.”
He was a steward of planet Earth. He recycled everything he could, and encouraged others to do so as well. (He gave lectures on recycling, too.)
Mark is survived by his wife Ruth and his children Julie and Maurice (married to Malka) and five grandchildren.
Possible places to donate, and ways to remember Mark:
- Contribute to coronavirus vaccine efforts, or to any organization that fights the pandemic.
- Contribute to The Blue Card (helps elderly Holocaust survivors)
- Donate blood or blood products
- Get an organ donor card, and/or make a financial donation to the Halachic Organ Donor Society (HODS)
- Learn more about recycling, recycle, and encourage others to do so.
