Dr. Richard B. Markwood

1953 - 2023

News story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

Dr. Richard B. Markwood, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, who delivered and took care of multiple generations in some families while guiding those new to the profession, died Feb. 19 in his Monclova Township home. He was 69.

The cause was complications from a stroke in November, 2021, said his wife, Dr. Shannon Sutherland.

"We were operating together when he had a stroke," Dr. Sutherland said.

When he awakened from a procedure he underwent afterward, he asked, "'Am I going to get to deliver another baby?'" Dr. Sutherland said.

He was not able to return to his practice after the stroke.

"It was his passion. He loved taking care of women," Dr. Sutherland said. "It gave him such pride and joy to bring new additions to families."

Some women whom he'd delivered years earlier became his patients, and he delivered their babies.

"He really enjoyed being part of a family like that," Dr. Sutherland said.

His first practice more than 40 years ago was in West Branch, Mich., and became chief of staff at Tolfree Medical Center there.

A Toledo native, he returned in 1993 to be closer to family. He had a private practice in Perrysburg and was director of the obstetrics and gynecology residency program at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center.

Dr. Sutherland was one of his residents before becoming his partner in practice and then in life.

"He was my everything," she said. "He was my best friend. He was my partner. He was my husband, the parent of my children. We did everything together. People were in amazement. We never fought."

They could be silent while in surgery together, each knowing what the other would do.

"I can't tell you why it worked or what the magic was," Dr. Sutherland said.

An osteopath, Dr. Markwood also became director of osteopathic medical education in charge of interns who might have been pursuing family practice or internal medicine, or orthopedics. He was an examiner for the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

He worked through the years at St. Vincent, Mercy Health St. Charles Hospital in Oregon, ProMedica Toledo Hospital, and ProMedica Flower Hospital in Sylvania. He was an early participant in 2007 of a St. Luke's Hospital physician group, WellCare. He later started a practice that became Rivercrest OB/GYN.

"The way he related to people, he genuinely cared about what they were going through and remembered everything about them and their families," Dr. Sutherland said. "He wanted to be part of their life and had a compassion at the bedside, and he made them feel at ease."

Dr. Benjamin White, a former partner in practice, said: "Whenever he entered a patient's room he was engaging. He let them know he knew who they really were as a person."

Dr. White, a third-year medical student in 1996 when they met, said that of the men who had an impact on his life, his father included, Dr. Markwood counted in the top three.

"He modeled compassion and excellent patient care," Dr. White said. "He was an excellent surgeon. He was a great human being overall."

He was born May 29, 1953, to Margaret and W. Theodore Markwood. He grew up on Beverly Drive in South Toledo and was a graduate of Bowsher High School, where he played basketball. He later regretted not playing college ball - and he cheered on the basketball success of daughter Jenny at the University of Toledo and daughter Laura at Miami University.

He was a graduate of Wittenberg University. He found osteopathy's holistic approach to medicine appealing and, inspired by the example of an uncle who was an osteopath, he studied at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri, from which he received a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree.

He initially aspired to be a movie director and remained a movie lover and a treasure trove of trivia.

He liked sailing, whether on Lake Erie from Toledo Beach Marina or the Caribbean from the British Virgin Islands. He played golf and was a member of Toledo Country Club. And he was skilled in the kitchen.

"He had a zest for life. He wanted to have fun," Dr. Sutherland said. "He was very extroverted, but he liked to have his quality private time. There was a side he kept just for his family."

Surviving are his wife, Dr. Shannon Sutherland, whom he married April 5, 2010; daughters Jenny Harris, Sarah Markwood, and Laura Vilhauer; sons Liam Markwood and Mcallister Markwood; stepson, Jacob Lucente; brother, Theodore Markwood, and two grandchildren.

Memorial services will begin at 5 p.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church of Maumee, where he was a member. The family will greet guests at the church after 4 p.m. Arrangements are by Coyle Funeral Home.

The family suggests tributes to Hospice of Northwest Ohio.