Quin Bernard Demarsh Was A Model Physician
Quin Bernard DeMarsh, one of Seattle's first hematologists, enjoyed all aspects of medicine, from ethics and teaching to private practice and research.
But he may be best remembered for helping found King County Blood Bank, now Puget Sound Blood Center. It was a model for blood banks nationwide.
His work in hematology also was instrumental in research that in 1990 won E. Donnall Thomas a Nobel Prize for Medicine involving bone-marrow-transplant work at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
"He worked and he worked and he worked, and, for a doctor, he was virtually ego-free," said his son, Walter DeMarsh of Seattle.
"He had a very direct manner. If he didn't know something, he had the ability to say so. And being an instructor, he could explain to patients exactly what was going on and every step being taken. It was just part of his nature to include the patient."
Dr. DeMarsh died Feb. 27 of cancer. He was 83.
Born in Rathdrum, Idaho, he grew up in Seattle and in Omak, Okanogan County. He took pre-med courses at the University of Washington and earned his medical degree at Northwestern University.
After serving as a Navy doctor in Alaska and Hawaii during World War II, he finished his residency in Chicago. Later he entertained family and friends with stories about that residency, involving stints in the emergency room at Chicago's busy Cook County Hospital.
"He said they would bring in the night-fight people to patch up, the loser first, the winner second," his son said.
After moving back to Seattle in the late 1940s, Dr. DeMarsh set up a private practice, and taught at the University of Washington. He also taught at what is now Swedish Medical Center/Seattle and served on its board of directors.
As one of the city's most prominent hematologists, he was "in on the ground floor" of the blood bank, said his son, adding:
"He was kind of unusual in another way. He was married to one wife over 50 years, and he lived in one house for 50 years."
Dr. DeMarsh made his home in the Woodway Park neighborhood north of Seattle. In his spare time he enjoyed hunting and fishing. One pilot to whom he gave annual flight physicals took him on fishing trips to the rivers of the Alaska bush.
Other survivors include his wife of 54 years, Gale DeMarsh of Seattle; his daughters Tanya DeMarsh-Dodson of Lynnwood and Judy DeMarsh of Seattle; brother, Stoddard DeMarsh of Woodway Park; and one grandchild.
No services are planned. Remembrances may go to Puget Sound Blood Center, 921 Terry Ave., Seattle, WA 98104.
Carole Beers' phone message number is 206-464-2391. Her e-mail address is: cbee-new@seatimes.com