Titan in orthopedics, John Thomas Makley, M.D., passed away on April 23, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19. He was 84 years old. Makley was a renowned orthopedic surgeon as well as a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University Medical School and University Hospitals in Cleveland.
Dr. Makley was additionally a prominent member of the Medical Board of Trustees at MTF Biologics.
Makley specialized in oncology and musculoskeletal tumors and had a national influence on these fields over the course of his rich, half a century long career. He was an innovator in the national treatment of bone and soft-tissue tumors as well as bone banking. He is survived by his beloved wife (Kitty); four children and their spouses, John Jr. and his wife Molly, Charlene and her husband Cain, Mary and her husband Kevin, and Christopher and his wife Genna; and eight grandchildren, Elizabeth, William, Sara, Noah, Anna, Rosa, Kieran, and Braeden.
Education and Upbringing
Born in southern Ohio as the youngest of five siblings, Makley followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Tod, an ophthalmologist, and dreamed of becoming a doctor from a young age. His parents were third-generation children of southern Ohio’s Irish Catholic and German immigrant community. Makley met his wife, Kathryn, known as Kitty, in high school. After graduating from University of Dayton in 1957, he enrolled in the University of Cincinnati Medical School. He and Kitty married in 1960.
Makley often described his wedding day as “the highlight of his life.”
In 1961, Makley graduated from University of Cincinnati Medical School and interned at University Hospital. Here, Makley worked under the mentorship of Charles Herndon, M.D., who would be a lifelong mentor. Makley chose to pursue specialties in both orthopedic surgery and oncology. He then procured a year-long fellowship residency at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1968.
Career
In 1969, Makley began a position in Cleveland’s Orthopaedics Department at University Hospitals. He embarked upon a remarkable 50-year career as a surgeon and researcher.
Specializing in oncology and musculoskeletal tumors, he was known to demonstrate a unique sense of compassion for the suffering of his cancer patients. Makley’s career was marked by a sense of justice and patient advocacy that seemed ahead of his time. He was troubled by the increasingly complex role of insurance company interaction in patient care. In the 90s, he worked with Operation Smile in the Philippines, providing free operations for underserved populations.
Makley and his research partners explored a range of research topics and issues regarding cancer diagnosis and treatment, musculoskeletal tumors and infectious disease. Makley and his colleagues Charles Hubay, M.D., and Arnold Powell, M.D., Ph.D., developed a ground-breaking cancer screening test that requires only a small blood sample.
Makley and his mentor John Carter, M.D., published over 50 orthopedic journal articles through the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Makley was a founding member of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society in 1977. The group focused on policy-making with the needs of patients and their orthopaedic oncologists in mind. The Society now has over 150 members worldwide and now sponsors fellowships. In 1991, Makley received a “Distinguished Alumni Award” at his Alma Mater, the University of Dayton. In 2000, Makley retired from University Hospitals. He and his colleagues received the Carter-Makley-Theros lectureship in Musculoskeletal Pathology a few years later.
John was always collegial, friendly, helpful
John was a very special man and colleague. Even though we were in different departments his astute advice helped save the life of one of my patients with a rare recurrent orbit tumor, where the advice of those in my field would have led to the child’s demise. We shared woodworking as an interest as well. He was a very special man. It was a privilege to have known him.