Martin Mendelson
It is with great sadness that the family of Martin (“Marty”) Mendelson (belatedly) announces his passing unexpectedly on 17 September 2023 at the age of 86 years as a result of complications from routine surgery.
Throughout his adult life, Marty was the quintessential scientist – forever asking why and how about everything, using scientific methods to address day-to-day problems, and endlessly reading the latest scientific journals and discoveries across fields. He was a proud member of Sigma Xi, a society devoted to the promotion of research in science, which he joined in 1964, and remained an engaged member for the rest of his life. He brought the joy and insights of science, particularly biology, to everyone around him. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Marty grew up in Brooklyn and Hamilton Township, NJ before starting his post-secondary education at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, earning a BA in zoology in 1958, and then then a PhD in neurobiology/geobiology from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA in 1962. At Caltech he studied the mechanisms of crab leg movement, continuing this focus across his research career. After finishing his PhD, he completed a one-year post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, after which he went on to teach and do research in neurophysiology as a professor at New York University (NYU) from 1962-1971.
Marty met his wife Thea at Cornell, and they had two children: daughter Kathryn and son Christopher (“Kit”). During the years at NYU, he and his family spent their summers in Woods Hole, MA where Marty did research at the Marine Biological Laboratory as a Grass Foundation Fellow in Neurophysiology. Woods Hole, a small town at the southern tip of Cape Cod, was one of Marty’s favorite places on earth. There he learned to sail on a historic 57-foot sailboat (a yawl-rigged Herreshoff NY40 named Marilee), then owned by his good friend and colleague, Alvin Bicker (see photo of outing on Marilee with his family). Inspired by his experiences sailing on Marilee, he acquired a 12 foot cat-rig sail boat he named “Banshee”, which he launched whenever and wherever he could find a body of water and a bit of wind.
In 1971, Marty moved to the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he continued teaching and doing research for 5 years. While teaching physiology to medical students at Stony Brook, Marty became increasingly intrigued by their questions, expanding knowledge base, and clinical experiences. Thus at the age of 36, he began medical school albeit with an abbreviated curriculum given his background and basic science training. Marty graduated in 1976, totally enamored with all aspects of clinical medicine. Thus, he selected family medicine so that he could see patients across the life course and across organ systems. He went to (then) Emanuel Hospital, in Portland, OR for residency from 1976 to 1979. Desiring to be the quintessential family doc, he set up practice in Scappoose, OR, providing the full spectrum of primary care, from deliveries to end-of-life care.
Unable to stay away from academia and teaching, from 1981 to 1985 Marty assumed directorship of the family medicine residency program at the University of California, Davis, teaching and mentoring residents and medical students. From UC Davis, he moved to Tacoma Family Medicine in Washington State (1986-1989), using his clinical skills, research, and computer interests to broaden residents’ scope of knowledge and clinical and problem-solving skills.
While at Tacoma Family Medicine, he met his partner for the next 30 years, Susan. They shared a love of science, endless curiosity, and travel. After initially hesitating to become a parent again, they adopted a daughter, Marielle, in 1997, who became the new love of his life.
One of Marty’s loves was computers: he built his first computer circa 1981 from a Heathkit. From then on, there was no going back. He introduced an electronic appointment system at the UC Davis and computers to Tacoma Family Medicine and became an expert in the MUMPS/M programming language. Although in large part retired, Marty did a Public Health Informatics Fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta from 2001 to 2003, working on data system problems in health systems. Following this, he consulted in hospital information systems across the west coast. His home contained an endless stream of desktops, laptops, LAN lines, and other paraphernalia, which he refurbished, tinkered with, and fine-tuned.
Marty moved to Geneva, Switzerland, with his family in 2012, due to Susan’s employment. There he continued his love of travel, exploring Western Europe and beyond with his family. He also returned to bench research there, further exploring actin and myosin mechanisms in marine species at the Station Biologique de Roscoff, in Roscoff France. He and Susan returned to Portland in 2019.
Teaching and mentoring were also his passion: in his faculty positions he shared his love of the clinical exam, problem solving, and physician-patient interactions, with countless medical students and residents. He was an old-school family doc – believing that the diagnostic answers and patient guidance came from an in-depth physical exam and history-taking, and not in the latest imaging or laboratory procedure. Marty could do an unsurpassed cardiac exam. The most long-standing and meaningful professional relationships Marty had were with his bench research colleagues: his mentors, doctoral and post-doc peers, and students were his best friends and comrades throughout his life, maintaining contact with them until his (or their) passing.
While growing up in a Kosher Jewish household, Marty never embraced religion, however he took pride in his Jewish heritage and recited the Blessings in Hebrew by heart every Hanukkah with his family, making latkes, and telling first testament stories. His views were always liberal, supportive of the needs of others, and accepting of diverse views. Always an active supporter of progressive public policy, during his last few years, following his return to Portland from Geneva, Marty became very involved in local/regional politics as a member of the League of Women Voters, and was proud to serve as a Precinct Committee Person for the Multnomah County Democrats, helping to formulate the party’s local and state platforms.
Marty is survived by his son Christopher (“Kit”) Mendelson (Michelle); daughter Marielle Norris; grand-daughters Aliana Norris (Hassan), Sophia Moss (Martha), Kelsey Francisco (Patrick), and Olivia Mendelson (Jenhsiang (“Wren”)); and friend and partner Susan. He was predeceased by his daughter Kathryn and first wife Thea.
As specified in his will, Marty’s ashes will be spread by his family in the Great Harbor in Woods Hole, MA on September 7, 2024. To celebrate Marty’s life and honor his memory, donations can be made to Planned Parenthood, an organization he strongly supported.