Mark Lewis Starr, M.D., was a dedicated physician who lived to help people. To get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors, Dr. Starr started to ride his bike all over town. He started out early one morning before going to work, but never finished his ride. He fell and was brought to the ER in the hospital where he worked, never to regained consciousness. "There was no question that he would want to donate his organs and any other parts of his body in order to help others," said his wife Kathy. The shock of having "one of their own" suffer such a sudden death was overwhelming to the Los Robles Hospital employees, but knowing that his legacy lives on in the spirit of others gives them comfort.

Dr. Starr's Story

Mark Lewis Starr, M.D., was a remarkably intelligent and dedicated physician. He was an amazing man who lived to help people, touching countless lives with his selfless, quiet acts of kindness. Whether he was helping people by improving their health, saving their lives, fixing a broken item, or simply answering a question, if he could see that you needed help, then he would offer it.

To get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors, Dr. Starr started to ride his bike all over town. He started out early one morning before going to work, but never finished his ride. For whatever the reason, he fell and was brought to the ER in the hospital where he worked. He was unresponsive and never regained consciousness.

A pulmonologist in charge of the patients in the critical care unit of Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Dr. Starr knew the importance of organ donation. For his family there was never a question of what he would want done.

"Giving someone else a chance to live would be something Mark absolutely wanted to do," said his wife Kathy. "There was no question that he would want to donate his organs and any other parts of his body in order to help others. That was just how Mark was."

The shock of having "one of their own" suffer such a sudden death was overwhelming to the Los Robles Hospital employees. "We will always miss seeing him and counting on him in the ICU every day," said one colleague. "But knowing that his legacy lives on in the spirit of others gives us comfort. It's the way he would've wanted it to be."