Dr. John W. English, M.D.

John W. English was born June 25, 1927, in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of John M. and Gladys (Zimmerman) English. Following his graduation from high school, John entered the US Navy, receiving his basic training at the Great Lakes Training Station in Illinois. He served as a Navy Seaman First Class during the final portion of World War II. Upon his honorable discharge, he returned to Madison where he enrolled in college and met his future wife, Jeanne Lord Kanert. The couple was married on June 14, 1952, making their first home in Madison, where they began raising a family. John received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1955. During the next year, he performed his rotating internship at Madison General Hospital. In 1956, Dr. English accepted a position with Beckley Memorial Hospital in Beckley, West Virginia, completing his Residency in Medicine there in 1960. In 1963, Dr. English was certified to practice the Specialty of Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. In July of 1964, the English family relocated to Marquette. He joined the Marquette Internal Medicine group then consisting of physicians, K. Charles Wright, Elston Huffman, and George Wilson in 1964. He was also one of the original founding members and shareholder physicians of the Marquette Medical Center in 1966, and a key Medical Center committee member involved with the recruitment and expansion of sub-specialty physicians to the area in the later 1960’s and 1970’s. Dr. English’s other accomplishments include, but are by no means limited to, his serving as Director of the first Coronary Care Unit in Marquette from 1968-1972, Director of Post-graduate Medical Education at Marquette General Hospital, directing over 1100 Friday Physician Clinical Conferences between 1968-1997, and founder and initial Co-Director, along with Professor Robert Wagner, of the Northern Michigan University Pre-Med Association, and advisor to the Pre-Med educational program until 2007. As such, he played an instrumental role connecting the university’s Pre-Med program to the Marquette General Hospital System by inviting distinguished Pre-Med students to attend the regular Friday Physician Clinical Conferences at Marquette General Hospital, and to make hospital rounds with local physicians. In 1998, Dr. English played a pivotal role through extensive historical research and information sharing helping to sway the members of the Michigan State Medical Society to come out against the State of Michigan legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide Proposal B Ballot, which did not pass.

John had many friends and was a loving and supportive son, husband, father, and always took an active interest in the paths of his children, grandchildren, and nephew’s lives. John was an optimist, a doer, a dreamer, a thinker, and a mentor and inspiration to many. Throughout the years, he traveled seven seas and six continents extensively with family, including Antarctica; loved sailing on his sloop Dulcinea in Lake Superior with family and friends, and especially his Dulcinea partner, very close friend and sailing mentor, Captain Robert H. Manning; and could often be seen jogging around town and along the lake with his feisty pet Schipperke Foxy Lady.

John possessed a lifelong love of books, art and classical music and had an extensive record collection and library covering a wide variety of historical, scientific and literary topics, which helped contribute to many long and interesting after-dinner conversations.

John was preceded in death by his parents; first wife of 58 years, Jeanne, on May 5, 2010.

Survivors include his wife of 10 years, Militza Georgevich-English of Marquette, whom he married on July 9, 2010; all five of his children, John M. (Christy) English and her son, Kevin L. Cox of East Lansing, Sarah Jane English (Irvin Zaenglein) of Marquette, Scott W.B. (Catherine) English of DeWitt, Stewart W. English of Marquette, and David A. (Carla) English of Superior, CO; all three of his grandchildren, Nicholas S. English (Amy Olsen) of Cana, VA, Brooke M. English-Barss of Boston, MA, and Spencer M. English of Lansing, MI; his sister-in-law, Gloria M. Fredricksmeyer of Boulder, CO; all three of his nephews, Hardy (Stephanie) Fredricksmeyer of Niwot, CO, Stefan (Elizabeth) Fredricksmeyer of Louisville, CO, and John Fredricksmeyer of Denver, CO; step-children, Jeff Georgevich and Denise Georgevich both of Manhattan Beach, CA; longtime family friend, Kimm E. Frew of Marquette.

Graveside services will be held at the Park Cemetery on Monday, September 28, at 1 pm, with Ann Russ, Celebrant.

Fassbender Swanson Hansen Funeral and Cremation Services is serving the family, where condolences may be expressed online at fassbenderswanson hansen.com