WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – A man who died while riding his bicycle last week has been identified as an Ann Arbor doctor.
Dr. Mark Oberdoerster, 68, died Saturday, Aug. 24, in Ann Arbor Township, confirmed Lt. Eugene Rush of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.
Oberdoerster co-founded Partners In Internal Medicine, PIIM, a medical practice based in Ann Arbor and Canton. He considered serving his community the “greatest honor of his life,” his wife, Deborah Oberdoerster, said in a family statement.
Mark Oberdoerster has been practicing internism since 1985 and is a member of the Medical Executive Committee of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, according to the PIIM website.
He was born in Zeist, Holland, but grew up in South Euclid, Ohio, according to an obituary obtained by MLive/The Ann Arbor News.
“Everyone who knew Mark knew his remarkable sparkling eyes, his broad smile, his wit, his intelligence and his zest for life,” the obituary states. “He was a voracious reader who always had a newspaper, a history book or a medical journal in his hand.”
According to the obituary, he was also a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Ann Arbor.
Read more: 68-year-old man dies while cycling near Ann Arbor
Officers with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office were called to Whitmore Lake Road near Stein Road around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Rush previously said. When police arrived, they found bystanders performing CPR on Oberdoerster, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
There was no car nearby and there was nothing on his bike to indicate he had been hit by a car, Rush said. The cause of the incident is unclear, although the preliminary investigation indicates Oberdoerster may have fallen over the front of his bike.
No further information was available on Tuesday.
“Mark had so much fun riding his beloved Ann Arbor hills and back roads on his bike,” said Deborah Oberdoerster. “No matter the weather or the time of year, he always set off happy and with a smile and returned home having found peace on the road.”
Oberdoerster thanked those around her who had come to her husband’s aid.
“Thank you for your kindness and humanity,” she said.
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