Daniel Bethem

Daniel Bethem, M.D. passed away peacefully on 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 in Canonsburg, PA on August 22,1944. He was 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 US 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, Minnesota 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 THURSDAY, May 1 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at The Bath Church U.C.C., 3980 W. Bath Rd., Bath, Ohio. The funeral will begin at 11:00 AM on FRIDAY, May 2 at The Bath Church. A private internment for family only will be conducted at Moore’s Chapel in Bath, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Bath Church or to the Bath Twp. Fire and Rescue Dept., 3864 W. Bath Rd., Akron, Ohio 44333. (Checks should be made out to Bath Fire Dept., Inc.)

Services in care of the Billow Funeral Homes and Crematory, 85 N. Miller Road Akron, OH 44333 (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)