Marvin J. Sakol Obituary (1923 - 2013)

To view Marvin's Memorial Service, Click Here. Marvin J. Sakol MD, formerly of Akron, died February 15, 2013 following a long illness days after celebrating both his 90th birthday and his 60th wedding anniversary. He was born in East Liverpool on February 4, 1923 to the late Bess and David Sakol. At the onset of World War II, while attending The Colorado School of Mines, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was sent to Yale to study radio and electrical engineering. He was stationed in England. It was from there in a B-17 "Flying Fortress" he and his crew flew sorties targeting the V2 Rocket Facility at Peenemunde, the headquarters of the German Missile Program. After the war he returned home and graduated from the Ohio State University School of Medicine in 1950. He was married to Ruth (Levy) on February 1, 1953. When he started his medical practice on West Market Street in 1954 he was the first Hematologist / Oncologist in Summit County. For the next 44 years his wisdom and wit touched the hearts and lives of thousands of his patients and their families as well as hundreds of medical students, residents, and physician colleagues who grew to respect both his leadership and diagnostic skills. Ironically the illness contributing to his death was one he had initially described in papers he published in 1954 in Archives of Internal Medicine. Following his medical career he and Ruth enjoyed 20 years of retirement together at a home site he carefully chose overlooking the Catalina Mountains, a few miles north of Tucson. To the very end of his long life he remained alert and engaged with his family. His library shelves overflow with hundreds of books, lectures and courses on tape. He never stopped reading and learning. Winston Churchill was one of his favorites. Like Churchill, Marv in later years was rarely seen without an unlit cigar in his mouth. Churchill once quipped, "I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me, is another matter!" Last Friday Dr. Sakol peacefully fell asleep in his home with Ruth by his side. In addition to his wife Ruth he is survived by his: Daughter Deborah and her husband Dr. Bruce Gerlach: granddaughters Dr. Lauren Gerlach and Dr. Jennifer Gerlach and her husband Dr. Jason Sherman and great-grandson Jacob Sherman: son Jeffrey and granddaughter Julie and great-grandchildren Matthew and Faith: his sister Ann(Goldsmith), and many nephews, nieces and friends who will forever carry his memory forward. Donations in Dr. Sakol's memory can be made to the Arizona Cancer Center at the University of Arizona, or to a charity of your choice.