Duane Sander Obituary

(News story) WOODVILLE, Ohio - Dr. Duane L. Sander, a former schoolteacher who became a physican - as he declared he would at age 5 - and had a small-town family practice for more than three decades, died Wednesday in Mercy Health St. Charles Hospital, Oregon. He was 69.

The cause of death was not known, but was believed to be heart related, his sister, Diane Henry, said.

Dr. Sander retired in July from Woodville Family Practice, in its namesake Sandusky County village. He started and then owned the practice until about two years ago, when it became part of the Mercy Health system.

"He knew his patients and cared about them very much, not only for their medical life," his sister said. "His patients were very close to him."

He cared for some patients from early childhood past young adulthood. And he treated their parents.

"He had his patients for so long, he grew old with them," his sister said.

At St. Charles Hospital, he was well liked as he made his rounds.

"He was so much fun and had a nice joke and made the patients feel he knew what he was doing," said his wife, Carol, who was working in the St. Charles medical records office when they met.

"He loved helping people," his wife said. "That was part of his faith. That was his vocation."

He was born Nov. 12, 1947, to Flora and Lowell Sander and grew up on a farm near Genoa, Ohio. He was a graduate of Genoa High School and received a bachelor's degree from Capital University and a master's degree from the University of Toledo.

He taught social studies to middle school students in the Oak Harbor, Ohio, district and biology, physiology, and the sciences to students at Lake High School.

"He told my mom and dad from the time he was 5 that he was not going to be a farmer; he was going to be a doctor. And he was," his sister said.

He received his medical degree from the former Medical College of Ohio. While a medical student, he worked at the former Mercy Hospital and was known for being able to draw blood from babies without making them cry, his sister said.

Dr. Sander was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church in the community of Latcha, Ohio, where he'd been baptized as an infant. He was a former congregational president, taught Sunday school, and sang in the choir.

He liked to golf and, after medical school, made a tour of such renowned Scottish courses as St. Andrews. He also liked to catch walleye in Lake Erie and take fishing expeditions to northern Ontario.

"We've been all over the world," his wife said. "I never wanted to, and he got me hooked on travel. It wasn't stressful. We loved new experiences and seeing new things."

Wherever they were, Dr. Sander went out of his way to speak with elderly people and to restaurant workers.

"It was like you knew him your whole life," his wife said.

Surviving are his wife, Carol Sander, whom he married Aug. 31, 1991; daughter, Dara Sander; stepsons Kevin and David Jeffries; sister, Diane Henry; brother, David Sander, and five step-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Sunday at the Robinson-Walker Funeral Home, Genoa. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Zion Lutheran Church in Wood County's Lake Township.

The family suggests tributes to the church.