James B. D. Mark, MD, a longtime leader at Stanford Medicine and innovative thoracic surgeon, died peacefully on Feb. 7. He was 95.

“Jim was a dedicated physician, scholar, and mentor,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Stanford University. “He shaped the field of thoracic surgery and made an extraordinary impact on the Stanford Medicine community.”

Mark was the founding head of the thoracic surgery division; he also served as the chief of staff at Stanford Hospital, associate dean for regional medical affairs, and associate dean for student affairs.

“Jim had a tremendous career,” said Joseph Woo, MD, chair of cardiothoracic surgery and the Norman E. Shumway Professor. “He was one of the really early adopters of thoracoscopic surgery for the lung, helping usher in what is now the gold standard for lung resection.”

Mark was an excellent and innovative surgeon, colleagues said, but he also loved to teach and mentor. To honor that legacy, the Mark family created the James B. D. Mark Family Visiting Professorship to engage and educate young faculty.

“We’ve invited many of the world’s most famous thoracic surgeons to come and honor him,” Woo said. “It’s an inspirational and unique opportunity for our residents, trainees, and young faculty to interact with the best surgeons in the field.”

James Mark | Courtesy the Mark family

Mark authored more than 150 publications and served on the editorial boards of several cardiothoracic journals. His published work included case reports on several challenging, unique cases and surgical innovations.

He was dedicated to his patients, colleagues said. “He was the complete surgeon. If he biopsied a patient, he would review the slides with the pathologist. If he took a chest X-ray, he would examine it with the radiologist,” said Jay Brodsky, MD, emeritus professor of clinical anesthesiology, who worked alongside Mark in the operating room for over 20 years. “He was involved in every aspect of thoracic surgery, every aspect of the patient’s care.”

Colleagues describe Mark as the quintessential gentleman, modest about his accomplishments and a delightful conversationalist. He was beloved and well-respected – people were always happy to see him coming down the hallway, colleagues said. He was also known for his sense of humor. Many trainees initially felt intimidated by his height – 6 foot, 2 inches – and reputation but soon relaxed because of his easygoing manner and lightheartedness.

“Jim was just an all-around wonderful human being. He was sharp as a tack, totally engaged in everything he did – which was a lot – and beloved by everyone he worked with for his constant humor and kindness,” said Joe Shrager, MD, chief of the thoracic surgery division, who took on the role after Mark. “He was completely devoted to patient care and to passing knowledge on to the next generation of surgeons.”

A true Southern gentleman surgeon

Born in 1929, Mark spent most of his first two decades at schools in the same neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee – from nursery school through medical school. His father, Julius Mark, was the first Reform rabbi in Nashville, and his mother, Margaret Baer Mark, managed the home and was involved in community service.

Mark graduated from high school at 16. He earned his bachelor’s degree, then his medical degree, in 1953, from Vanderbilt University. His desire to connect with patients, and eventually with students, guided him toward medicine.

In 1953, Mark became a surgical intern at Yale New Haven Hospital, then completed two years of active duty in the United States Public Health Service in Chicago. While there, Mark met his future wife, Jean “Maxie” Rambar, his cousin’s neighbor and friend. They married and moved to New Haven, where Mark completed his thoracic and cardiovascular surgery residency at Yale in 1960. He remained as an instructor and assistant professor.

In 1964, Mark followed his mentor and friend, Bob Chase, MD, to California. “He fell in love with Stanford,” his daughter Maggie MarkdaSilva said, “and my mom fell in love with California.”

He became the chair of surgery at the newly affiliated Santa Clara County Medical Center. In 1970, he was promoted to professor and relocated to Stanford Hospital, where he focused on thoracic surgery.

The early ’70s were also a time of adventure for him and his family. Mark, his wife, and their three youngest children (daughters aged 14, 13 and 9) moved to Tanzania for the 1972-1973 academic year while Mark was a senior Fullbright-Hays fellow and visiting professor of surgery at what is now known as Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar-es-Salaam.

“It was huge for him professionally because of the very different environment and infrastructure and the nature of teaching that was so different there,” his daughter Elizabeth Mark Marincola said. “He also loved that he was able to bring his family, that we went to school in Tanzania and had an adventure there. It thrilled him to the core.”

Mark assumed leadership roles when he returned to Stanford, becoming acting chair of the surgery department in the ’70s and chief of staff at the hospital in the ’80s.

He also served as president of the Halsted Society, the Western Thoracic Surgical Association, and the American College of Chest Physicians. He was one of the first thoracic surgeons to use a scope for surgery in the chest, and he adapted technologies initially used only for minimally invasive operations in the abdomen to perform lung surgeries through smaller incisions in the chest. “His big pioneering innovation is now the gold standard,” Woo said.

“He was dedicated to his work and loved it,” MarkdaSilva said. “For many decades, he was the only full-time person in the thoracic surgery division, so he went to the hospital every day.”

In the operating room, Mark was a true team player, Brodsky said. “We had a lot of fun together. He was a very, very good surgeon. And he was very outgoing and friendly.” Mark often took photographs in the operating room, creating mementos to share with students. Mark mentioned in a Stanford University oral history from 2015 that students would frequently approach him at reunions and say they still had the photos. “They don’t remember a damn thing I taught them, but they remember the picture in the operating room,” he said.

Downplaying his impact was classic Mark, his colleagues said. He often worked with residents during the last six months of their rotations in the cardiothoracic surgery department, having learned from the “father of the heart transplant,” and Mark’s close friend, Norman Shumway, MD. “These were very experienced postgraduate surgeons, and he was teaching them the finer points of thoracic surgery,” Brodsky said. “Some of them became deans and presidents of colleges, and some are famous cardiothoracic surgeons.”

Nurse Marguerite Brown worked closely with Mark and Shumway, caring for critically ill heart and lung patients. She cared for Shumway when he was sick and, in the days after his death, found a moving handwritten note Mark left on her desk.

“He was such a kind and considerate individual, and he treated nurses as colleagues whose opinions he respected. At the height of his career, he, like many other physicians at the time, was spending very long hours at the hospital,” Brown said. “His ‘work family’ appreciated and treasured the time we were privileged to spend with him.”

Mark became emeritus in 1997 but continued to work with patients and attend thoracic conferences. He continued teaching residents well into his 80s.

Always home for dinner

While medicine and his work as a surgeon were important, family was more so, his family said. He always made it home for dinner.

“There was a stability that we felt from the love he gave to us,” MarkdaSilva said. “There was a steadiness and a dependability, a consistency, about it.”

He made time to coach Little League for his sons and was always athletic, playing tennis and golf. He also kept horses for a period and enjoyed weekend rides.

James Mark riding near the Stanford University campus in the 1970s. | Courtesy the Mark family

He was a truly outstanding golfer and was Shumway’s regular partner, Shrager said. “It was hard to concentrate when playing with Jim because he never stopped narrating the round, humorously, out loud.”

After retiring, he and Maxie enjoyed trips abroad, especially to Italy.

“He was devoted, not just to his grandchildren, but his great-grandchildren. He just loved following their progress,” Marincola said. “He never lost his connection with the subsequent generations.”

Mark received numerous career awards, including the Gold Medal of the City of Milan, Italy; the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; and the Albion Walter Hewlett Award from the Stanford University Department of Medicine.

Mark is survived by his wife, Jean “Maxie” Rambar Mark, of Cupertino, California, and his children: John Mark, Michael Mark, Maggie MarkdaSilva, Elizabeth Marincola, and Katie Mark. He had seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

A remembrance will take place April 19 at the Stanford Faculty Club. Instead of flowers, the Mark family would welcome donations to the James B. D. Mark Family Visiting Professorship or Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.