L. Marvin Clark, MD, age 93, beloved husband, loving father, and caring physician, passed away in Washington, DC, surrounded by family on June 4, 2025, after a sudden stroke. He resided in Solomons, MD, with his wife, Sandy.
Dr. Clark was a long-time member of ASTMH. He was born Lawrence Marvin Clark on April 22, 1932, and he graduated from Clarion Area High School in 1950. Grove City College awarded him a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1953. In 1957, he completed his Doctor of Medicine degree at Temple University School of Medicine, followed by an internship at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh and a general surgical residency at Akron General Hospital in Akron, Ohio, and Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.
On June 18, 1960, Dr. Clark married Sandra J. Marshall, daughter of Alvin Marshall and Martha Hindman. Sandra M. Clark, M.D., joined him in medical practice in 1969 after three of their four children were born. They were married for 65 years.
Marvin proudly served his country as a medical officer (LT. MC) in the United States Navy aboard military transport ships to and from Europe and Asia from 1958 to 1960. Marvin and Sandy operated a private medical practice in the Clarion-Brookville area from 1970 to 1982. Throughout his years of private practice as a surgeon, Marvin was known for his passion for medicine and his attentive, life-saving care for his many thousands of patients, and his kindness to those in need. Marvin also dedicated himself to civic duties. He served as the President of the Clarion County Medical Society, Assistant college health physician, the American Cancer Society, and the Tri-county Public Health Board, and was elected to the Borough Council.
Beginning in 1983, Dr. Clark and Sandy launched many international medical assignments in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, South Sudan, and Indonesia. One of his and Sandy’s major accomplishments between 1982-1996 was the design and implementation of a malaria control/public health project sponsored by Freeport Indonesia, a mining company in West Papua, Indonesia, covering 1,000 square miles of jungle, and 50,000 indigenous people, reducing the incidence of malaria from 83% to 4%, significantly improving their lives. In the course of these adventures, Dr. Clark and Sandy moved to Tucson and later Green Valley, Arizona, where they maintained their home from 1985 to 2023.
A humanitarian at heart, Marvin dedicated many years of his life to volunteer medical missions, including the Embudo Presbyterian Hospital in New Mexico; the Presbyterian Hospital in remote Ethiopia; combating sleeping sickness in war-torn South Sudan with the International Medical Corps; and HIV prevention efforts in the eastern Indonesian islands with Medical Emergency Relief International.
Dr. Clark had an adventurous spirit and enthusiasm for travel, taking him to all 50 states, all seven continents and over 50 countries. Marvin loved hiking, whether on the trails of Cook’s Forest or climbing Africa’s tallest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. He had a passion for railroads and history, with an encyclopedic knowledge of many topics. Marvin was adored by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They loved it when he would play the piano. He was naturally gifted musically and could play any song he had learned without sheet music. He had a great sense of humor, and everyone enjoyed his tales of his many adventures.
He was most proud of his family. Dr. Clark is survived by his wife, Sandy, and four children and their spouses. Lynn (Jim) Towse of Pennsylvania; Mark Clark (Setyowati) of Virginia; Laurie Harlin (Brian) of Wisconsin; and Scott Clark (Jean Hobler) of California. Marvin and Sandra are blessed with seventeen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Dr. Clark's parents and two sisters, Mary and Martha, preceded him in death.
Dr. Clark was baptized and married in the First Presbyterian Church of Clarion. Years later, on his return to practice in Clarion, he was an active member of the First United Methodist Church. In Green Valley, Arizona, Marvin attended the Valley Presbyterian Church, and upon moving to Maryland, he joined the Patuxent Presbyterian Church. He believed in the resurrection and Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.