| Stories | Poems |
|---|---|
| Hindu Temple(c. 1992) | I Can't Hear This Whistle |
| Port Orford, Oregon(1985) |
Marvin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1934, the first son of Ben Nathan
Gottlieb and Sylvia Horwitz. In 1938, Sylvia Horwitz
died, and Marvin and his younger brother Barry went to live
in the Jewish Orthodox Orphans Home in Cleveland. Several years later, after
Ben's
marriage to Doris Roszell, Marvin and Barry rejoined their father and his
growing family.
Marvin grew up in Cleveland, graduating from Cleveland John Adams High School, and then obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University).
Through his brother Barry, Marvin met
Judith Bailin, a student at Ohio University,
and they were married in June 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio.
.
After moving his family to Toledo in 1968 to start a new psychiatry residency program at The Medical College of Ohio--Toledo, he served as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry there until the mid-1990's. After retiring from MCO, he practiced psychiatry in two outpatient clinics until 2001. He was not a publishing professor; his work was in the counseling of individuals and groups. He also testified as an expert witness many times over the years.
Marvin was not an openly emotional person, but was tremendously intuitive regarding people's feelings and actions. This made him a doctor much loved by his patients. He was a practitioner in the "old school" of therapy - someone who believed in the power of counseling, as opposed to the 15 minute medication checks which have become standard. Marv did not like the managed-care approach to mental health, where business considerations are the only criteria for deciding who gets help.
Marv was a very giving person in his own way. Joel and his brother Bob both have a huge number of coats, pairs of shoes, and other such things that Marv would buy. He loved classical music, and he loved harness racing. He was not at all interested in the thoroughbreds; instead, he spent many happy evenings at Raceway Park in Toledo, Ohio. "Doc" was a terrific handicapper, often heading out to the track to "catch a few" in the evening.
For many years, Marv collected pipes, pocket watches, and occasionally stereo equipment. Joel and Bob both spent a lot of time with him in pipe shops, which used to be found in shopping malls throughout the US, and they can still judge the quality of a pipe. Marv stopped smoking around 1980, and neither Joel nor Bob ever started, but he continued collecting for some years after.
Marv was also an incredibly fast reader. He could go through a novel in a few hours, retaining a surprising amount from the book. He taught Joel to go to the library often, select a big pile of books, and then select which ones to take home. He could surprise you with things you didn't think he knew about. His intelligence was wide-ranging, mixed with a deep interest in almost anything.
Marv was also a terrific chess player. He began at Western Reserve College, and taught Joel and Bob to play as kids. Joel and Bob both played on their high school chess teams, and both enjoyed going over each match with Marv. He was a patient teacher - want to take that one back?.
In the early 1980's, Marv became a long-distance runner, and eventually completed several marathons. He could go on training runs lasting more than three hours. His pace was quite slow, but he had tremendous stamina. Many of us remember how dark he would get from running in the sun all day. He also played tennis for many years at The Jewish Community Center. ("Marv? Hit the ball around?")
Marv's sense of humor was a little hard to grasp, but it was there. He loved Animal House ("I'm not going to see some Disney movie"). When cable TV became available in Toledo in the late 1970's, Marv watched Caddyshack just as many times as Joel and Bob.
Marv has six brothers and sisters: Barry, Lee (shown with his sister Anna Marie and his wife Janie), Richard, Yvonne, Jim (shown with his wife Kathy in October 2004), and
Anna Marie. All were present in Toledo in 1988.
He was married to Judy (Joel's mother), and Marge Reissig of Toledo,
and is
married to Jill; Marv and Jill were married in Toledo in 1997.
In 2006, Bob and Joel and their families visited Marv. He's been doing
reasonably well.
We also saw Barry in 2006
with his ladyfriend Sue.
In 2007, Joel and Bob and their families visited Marv, and he played very
strong games of chess with both Aidan and Joel.
You can find the details of the extended family in the Family Trees link at left.
Comments are VERY welcome. Use the email address below.