Daniel Bethem Obituary

August 22, 1944 - April 17, 2025 Daniel Bethem, M.D., passed away peacefully Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. He was 80 years old. His legacy on this earth is bounded by his immense love for his family and his experienced care for patients with spinal deformities at Akron City Hospital (currently Summa Health System) and Akron Children's Hospital. Dan was born August 22, 1944, in Canonsburg, and named after his father's dear friend, Danny Grove, who perished in World War II. He first met his lifelong sweetheart, Mary Jo Rankin, on the school bus in the eighth grade. They attended Canon- McMillan High School, where he graduated Valedictorian. He and Mary Jo dated on and off through college. They married in 1967 to begin a 57-year marriage, during which they welcomed three children - Tucker, Zachary and Courtney. Dan grew up in a family of simple means. He said he often had to share a hot dog for dinner with his sister. To earn money for college he worked various summer jobs as a mail carrier, a caddy on the local golf course and draftsman. He received a full caddy scholarship to attend Washington & Jefferson College, where he received a BS in Biology. Through a stroke of good fortune, the 4-year caddy scholarship was extended to cover his expenses for medical school. Dan attended Temple Medical School and first came to Akron City Hospital in 1970 for his internship. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1971 and served as a General Medical Officer at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. In 1973, he returned to Akron to complete his orthopedic residency at Akron City Hospital. In 1976, he went to Tehran, Iran for a three-month opportunity to observe and treat conditions uncommon in the United States. In 1979, he did a year-long fellowship at Gillette Hospital in St Paul, Minn. to specialize in scoliosis and other spinal deformities. He brought that expertise back to Akron to be the first fellowship-trained scoliosis surgeon in the area. He had an early retirement from orthopedic surgery, but he transitioned to a second career as a financial advisor for A.G Edwards and later Wells Fargo. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, August and Mary Dorosh Bethem; and his sister, Colleen Skibo. He is survived by his wife, Mary Jo Bethem; and his children, Tucker Bethem (wife Heather, children Alex and Tyler), Zachary Bethem (wife Maria), and Courtney Phillips (husband Segev, children Ezra and Talya). Visiting Hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1 in The Bath Church U.C.C., 3980 W. Bath Road, Bath, Ohio. The funeral will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, May 2, in The Bath Church. A private internment for family only will be conducted at Moore's Chapel in Bath. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Bath Church or to the Bath Township Fire and Rescue Department, 3864 W. Bath Road, Akron, OH 44333 (checks should be made out to Bath Fire Department, Inc.). To share a memory, send a condolence or light a candle, visit the tribute wall at www.billowfuneralhomes.com (Billow, 330-867-4141).