Isadore E. Markowitz

January 3, 1924 – December 11, 2011

Dr. I. Edward “Mark” Markowitz passed away suddenly at the age of 87 on December 11, 2011 as a result of a brain hemorrhage that occurred in his sleep. He was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital where his family was able to gather and say their last goodbyes. Fifteen hours later, with no pain and with great dignity, he peacefully departed this world. He is deeply mourned by his wife of 57 years, Sandy, his three daughters Lisa Herman, Michelle Moret, and Karen Markowitz and their partners, and his seven beloved grandchildren.

Mark Markowitz was born in 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents--Eastern European immigrants—who separated when the children were small. Mark and his older sister, Sarah, were raised primarily by their father, Louis Charles Markowitz, and remained close throughout their lives. Louis moved his young family to San Diego in 1932 where they became lifelong residents and raised their respective families.

Graduating from San Diego High School in 1942, Mark began attending State College while working the swing shift at Convair. The following year he was inducted into the Armed Services, where he was assigned to the 8th Air Force and served as the radio operator and alternate top-turret gunner on

B-24’s. While stationed at the Flixton Air Base in England with the 446th Bomb Group, 705th Squadron, his was the lead group in the advance air strike at Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Four days later, on his 13th mission returning from a raid over Germany, he and 9 other crewmembers had to abandon their badly damaged plane. Fortunately, they were able to bail out over English soil, but unfortunately the co-pilot was killed when his chute failed to open. Mark completed his tour of 31 missions and returned to the U.S.

Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, he volunteered for the Air Transport Command for his follow-up service, where he was transferred to the China-Burma-India theatre of operations. There he served as radio operator on a 3-man crew on C-46’s,

C-47’s, and C-54’s flying supplies over “The Hump”— The ßHimalayans—from his base in Assam, India to Kunming, China. He continued his tour there until the end of the war with Japan in 1945.

At age 21 Mark returned to the city he knew best, resumed his studies at San Diego State on the GI Bill, and ultimately graduated from the Northern Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago. The earnest young optometrist opened a private practice in Linda Vista in 1955, followed shortly thereafter by a second office in the newly completed Clairemont Quad Shopping Center. While serving as President of the San Diego County Optometric Society in 1956, Mark met and married the lady of his dreams, Sandy, who had opened a small business--Sandy’s Flowers and Records—just a stone’s throw away from his new office in “The Quad.”

“Sandy and Mark” soon became “Mom and Dad” to three daughters, whom they enjoyed raising in their beloved hillside home overlooking Mission Bay. There in his leather recliner, Mark cherished 55 years of glorious sunsets, while “overseeing” the growth and development of America’s finest City.

Before Retiring in 1985, Mark enjoyed planning many trips that would ensure an abundance of family memories and adventure tales to tell. From island skipping in the Hawaiian Islands and house-boating on the Sacramento River to annual snow trips to the Idyllwild cabin and motor-homing across country, he loved to say, “Now let this sink into your memory cells, kids!” Weekend getaways to the trailer at Elfin Forest provided years of recollections to laugh about as did the theme parties he liked to plan, such as The Happening and The Poverty Party. Post retirement, he enticed Sandy away from her job at Ocean Realty with many exciting destinations near and far.

In his later years, Mark followed world events and national politics on CNN daily and fell deeply in admiration with Rachel Maddow, whom he watched every night if he could. He also enjoyed his twice-daily walks in the neighborhood, and maintaining his well-loved home ensuring it was aesthetically pleasing and in tip-top condition. His delight was obvious when the neighborhood children would stop with their parents to inspect “Poppy’s Garden”—decorated with an abundance of little animal statuaries among his collection of rocks.

While Mark’s passing came as surprise to his family due to his exceptional health, he, no doubt, had it flawlessly choreographed. Every T was crossed and I dotted, down to all of Sandy’s medications being stocked and his own Obituary Notes written. His powerful influence on his immediate and extended family, friends, patients, neighbors, and larger community will live on in our hearts and memories, but his levity, equanimity, and wise council will always be missed.