A longtime doctor in Kodiak was found dead on an island east of the city Wednesday night.
Mark Withrow was 75. He recently retired after working as a local doctor for decades. Alaska State Troopers do not suspect foul play.
In a written dispatch, troopers say someone reported finding Withrow on a section of shoreline of Long Island at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5. Troopers say Withrow was boating alone and overdue. A family friend found his boat, anchored in a lagoon at Long Island.
The State Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
UPDATE on Feb. 13:
KMXT has received a message from the Withrow family and has included it in this post in its entirety:
"Generous, principled, and hardworking, Mark Edward Withrow—a healer, artist, and fisherman—lived a full life, selflessly contributing for 45 years to the Kodiak community he cherished.
Mark died on Wednesday, February 5, doing what he loved: fishing and exploring the sea near Long Island, just east of Kodiak. He was 75.
Born July 29, 1949, in Ladysmith, Wisc., Mark grew up and was educated in Edina, Minn., before moving on to Iowa State University. He was the Cyclones football team captain. He was a member of Mayo Medical School’s first graduating class in 1976. Two years later, Mark moved to Kodiak, acquired the Island Medical Center, and transformed it, along with many other providers, into Kodiak Island Medical Associates (KIMA).
For four decades, KIMA was a staple of the community, with Mark as a caring and fierce advocate for his patients and a kind but demanding mentor to scores of medical students and young physicians. On this remote island, KIMA offered creative, well-researched, world-class healthcare.
In 1980, he purchased land overlooking Monashka Bay, first living in a tent and then building a small cabin. Soon after, he married Carol Juergens, his medical school sweetheart, and together, they helped grow KIMA while expanding their house on the cliff and their family. Jack arrived in 1983, and Annie a year later.
Children were nothing new to Mark. He was the first to hold thousands of Kodiak babies after delivering them and was always ready to counsel their parents.
Mark’s kindness and dedication to his craft were demonstrated countless times. When the state of Alaska ran out of vaccines, Mark purchased them on his own and delivered them to the public health center. When the hospital’s emergency room needed coverage, Mark worked without pay to ensure life-saving measures. When the town’s EMTs needed oversight, Mark was there. When Kodiak’s mental health resources were threatened, Mark fought to preserve them. Often, he would insist on community-wide programs, not just ones for KIMA.
As KIMA’s business leader, Mark took an unorthodox approach to recruiting physicians for the clinic while revealing his endearing sense of humor. Once, in a proposed employment contract, he stated that if a candidate didn’t stay for two years, he would be cut up and used for halibut bait. Dodging such fate, the doctor worked at KIMA for 23 years.
Away from his clinic and home, his boat—the Seajay—is where you’d find Mark. In it, he fiddled endlessly and traveled extensively around Kodiak, expertly guiding and fishing with family and friends.
Of course, what he caught, he shared.
Mark is survived by Carol, Jack of Fairbanks; Annie of Perth, Australia; grandchildren Huck, Henlee, Kalsin, and Koa; daughter-in-law Erin Harvey, son-in-law Krishan Shah; and brother Steve Withrow of Fort Collins, Colo.
He is survived, too, by the place and people he knew and loved, the entire Kodiak community.
Mark’s family is grateful to all the acquaintances, friends, patients, fishermen, and mechanics, among others, who helped facilitate his passion for the sea, Kodiak, and life.
All are invited to remember Mark at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium on Saturday, February 15, at 1 p.m. Immediately following, or around 3 p.m., the community is invited to a potluck gathering at the Afognak Native Corporation Banquet Hall. If you’d like, bring a dish and a story to share.
Memorials may be sent to the Kodiak charity of your choice."
