Mark Woodson Root
1946-10-03 2024-03-15
Born to Carol (nee Beach) and Sam Root on October 3rd, 1946 in a Parisian psychiatric hospital–which was used as a general hospital during the war–Mark Woodson Root spent his first six months in France with his newlywed parents. He slept in a dresser-drawer fashioned into a crib on the ship bound for the U.S., where they resided briefly in Ann Arbor.
Over the next few years, they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the family growing to include four beloved younger siblings, before settling in Jacksonville, Florida.
After majoring in Chemistry at Duke University, he volunteered for the VISTA program in New Mexico. He fondly remembered this time and maintained that he learned more than he was able to contribute to the community there.
In the following years, he attended University of Michigan Medical School, the duration of which he did not sleep. After his residency, he worked at the Ypsilanti State Regional Hospital where he supervised residents and was the director of the adolescent unit. He opened his private practice in Tower Plaza and worked at several local clinics.
Mark loved his work as a psychiatrist who was committed to finding the right treatments for his patients. His ability to listen, understand, and empathize with reasons for human beliefs and behavior made him uniquely capable of treating his patients without judgment, and he cared deeply for them, always investing the extra time needed to provide thorough treatment.
He continued to meet, for years, with fellow psychiatrists: Wolfgang May, Duncan Magoon, Murray Meisels, to further educate themselves in the best treatments for patients.
In 1976, Mark was introduced by friends to Lynn Sharrock, a nursing student and secretary in the Psychology Department at Eastern Michigan University, before she began her career as a psychiatric nurse. They shared a great sense of humor and enjoyed canoeing, music, and traveling together. He and Lynn raised their children, Chloe and Barnaby, to have compassion for others, and to appreciate nature, language, science, theater, and music.
In the last few years, he met weekly with extended family (Rick Sharrock, Donna Sharrock, Tom Webb, Orianna Webb, Varenne Salazar) either in-person or through video calls.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn Sharrock; their children, Chloe Root (Michael Boyes), and Barnaby Root; his brothers and sisters Christopher (Mary Portser), Laurie (Jim McCormick), Tommy, and Mary Root; and his nieces and nephews Nicholas Haris-Taucher, Orianna Webb, and Austin Arnett.
A special thanks to all who helped with his care: Ken Sharrock, Michael Boyes, Ann Lyzenga, Marian Karl, Donna Carlson, Michelle Wendman, and the Heartland Hospice care team.
He will be remembered by all who knew him for his deep intelligence, thoughtfulness, compassion, and corny jokes (and great sense of humor). We miss him a lot.
Over the next few years, they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the family growing to include four beloved younger siblings, before settling in Jacksonville, Florida.
After majoring in Chemistry at Duke University, he volunteered for the VISTA program in New Mexico. He fondly remembered this time and maintained that he learned more than he was able to contribute to the community there.
In the following years, he attended University of Michigan Medical School, the duration of which he did not sleep. After his residency, he worked at the Ypsilanti State Regional Hospital where he supervised residents and was the director of the adolescent unit. He opened his private practice in Tower Plaza and worked at several local clinics.
Mark loved his work as a psychiatrist who was committed to finding the right treatments for his patients. His ability to listen, understand, and empathize with reasons for human beliefs and behavior made him uniquely capable of treating his patients without judgment, and he cared deeply for them, always investing the extra time needed to provide thorough treatment.
He continued to meet, for years, with fellow psychiatrists: Wolfgang May, Duncan Magoon, Murray Meisels, to further educate themselves in the best treatments for patients.
In 1976, Mark was introduced by friends to Lynn Sharrock, a nursing student and secretary in the Psychology Department at Eastern Michigan University, before she began her career as a psychiatric nurse. They shared a great sense of humor and enjoyed canoeing, music, and traveling together. He and Lynn raised their children, Chloe and Barnaby, to have compassion for others, and to appreciate nature, language, science, theater, and music.
In the last few years, he met weekly with extended family (Rick Sharrock, Donna Sharrock, Tom Webb, Orianna Webb, Varenne Salazar) either in-person or through video calls.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn Sharrock; their children, Chloe Root (Michael Boyes), and Barnaby Root; his brothers and sisters Christopher (Mary Portser), Laurie (Jim McCormick), Tommy, and Mary Root; and his nieces and nephews Nicholas Haris-Taucher, Orianna Webb, and Austin Arnett.
A special thanks to all who helped with his care: Ken Sharrock, Michael Boyes, Ann Lyzenga, Marian Karl, Donna Carlson, Michelle Wendman, and the Heartland Hospice care team.
He will be remembered by all who knew him for his deep intelligence, thoughtfulness, compassion, and corny jokes (and great sense of humor). We miss him a lot.