Ivan A. Gradisar Jr, MD

Ivan A. Gradisar Jr, MD, 85, of Trappe, Maryland, passed away unexpectedly on September 2, 2025. Ivan was born February 12, 1940, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, to the late Ivan Sr. and Ann (Hete) Gradisar.

Ivan graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School, Akron, Ohio (1958), The University of Notre Dame (1962), and The Ohio State University College of Medicine (1967), where he earned his medical degree. He completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Akron City Hospital. (Summa Health Systems) He then took a fellowship year at Case Western University in biomechanical engineering where his research in bone cement and materials testing compelled him to establish the Walter Hoyt Jr. MD Musculoskeletal Research Lab at Akron City Hospital.

Ivan joined Orthopaedic Surgeons Inc. in 1973, and practiced orthopaedic surgery in Akron, Ohio for 31 years. In 1989, Ivan co-founded the Crystal Clinic (Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center) in Akron, Ohio, and served as its inaugural president, helping to build a state-of-the-art facility that remains a premier center for musculoskeletal care. He was a professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Northeast Ohio Medical University. Research conducted throughout his career led him to be a part of a design team for a new total knee implant. Ivan spent a decade teaching surgeons around the world how to implant the device and shared his knowledge of total joint replacement.

Ivan believed in the potential and capacity of those around him. He was a consummate teacher. Ivan fed his own curiosity with a diverse reading library and extensive travel with his family. He was a wonderful storyteller with an infectious laugh. He loved gathering people together and fashioned his retirement property in Maryland around that vision, where boating, hunting, fishing, and woodworking filled his days.

He is survived by his wife, Lynne of 43 years, his daughters Jacqueline Marinaro, Nicole Bunselmeyer (Kurt), son Ian Gradisar, MD (Sara, MD), and daughter Catharine Livingston (John). He will be greatly missed by his grandchildren Neil (Candyce), Evan, and Kyle Godlewski; Grady and Luke Bunselmeyer; Ivan and Amelia Gradisar; and Gibson and Annie Livingston, as well as his loving siblings Joanne (Joseph) Hoffmann, Frances Moore, and Gilbert (Marianne) Gradisar, and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his cherished daughter, Erin Gradisar, his parents Ann and Ivan, Sr., and brother-in-law, Robert Moore.

A funeral celebration will be held at St. Victor Catholic Church in Richfield, Ohio, on October 10, 2025, with visitation at 9:00 am and Mass at 10:00 am.  A family-only interment will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery in Akron, Ohio.

Ivan believed deeply in investing in the next generation. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Ivan's name to the Memorial Scholarship Fund at Archbishop Hoban High School, 1 Holy Cross Blvd. Akron, Ohio 44306 or https://www.hoban.org/give.