Obituary of John Douglas Werschkul, MD

Dr. John Douglas “Doug” Werschkul passed away peacefully at his home on December 2, 2019 in Olympia, Washington, following a very brief battle with metastatic lung cancer.  He was born September 21, 1943 to Leslie Julius and Mary Eleanor (Hays) Werschkul, Jr. in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in the East Moreland area of Portland, Oregon.   Doug excelled as a student and loved playing baseball with the Baby Beavers, Mt. Hood Little League and at Cleveland High School, where he also was an all-star basketball player.  In his younger years, he was a Junior Escort for the Portland Rose Festival. He continued his superior scholastic achievement in high school and was named to the National Honor Society, as well as the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. As a member of the ROTC Air Force, Doug graduated from Cleveland in 1961.

At the University of Oregon, he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the honorary Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated Cum Laude in March 1965. He attended the University of Oregon Medical School, Portland, Oregon, and graduated M.D., Magna Cum Laude, 1969.

Doug was married to Theresa Rittenour from 1965-1975; they had three children together, Erika, Hilde and Gretchen.  Doug’s postgraduate work was at Strong Memorial Hospital, University of Rochester, where he had an Internship and Residency, 1969-1971.  Entering the University of Oregon Medical School as a Resident, he chose to pursue neurosurgery with a passion for one of the most difficult fields in medicine.

Doug was drafted into U.S. Army active duty in 1965.  As a Major, he served in the neurosurgery department at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  From January through April of 1977, he was Assistant Chief of Neurosurgery Service at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Denver, Colorado.  

While at Walter Reed, he married Barbara Pios of Baltimore in 1977.  They had two sons, Jason and Christopher.  Following his two-year service in the Army, he established a private neurosurgery practice in Bellingham, Washington, from 1977 to 1988.

Rejoining the Army in 1988, Doug accepted the assignment of Staff Neurosurgeon, 2nd General Army Hospital, Landstuhl, Germany, 1988-1990.  Returning stateside, he became Chief of Neurosurgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington, 1990-2006.  He was assigned to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War in 1991 and to the Iraq War stationed in Baghdad, 2004-05. As a decorated veteran, his military honors include the Medal of Valor and three Bronze Stars for meritorious service to his country. 

Doug married Beverly Sherman in 2005.  They moved to Olympia in 2008, and also enjoyed a second home in Port Ludlow, where he enjoyed fishing, crabbing, and hosting family and friends. Doug was a consummate fisherman and handcrafted a river boat river boat in 1983.  He loved fly fishing in rivers all over Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and going up to Quatsino, British Columbia for special salmon fishing.  He enjoyed his last fishing trip with friends to Quatsino this past Labor Day week, 2019. 

Golf was a major sport in the Werschkul family, with dad, mom, brothers and friends playing at East Moreland Country Club.  It was a sport that he continued with family and friends until he played his last rounds of golf the last week of October 2019.  Jason and Chris played with their dad on Sunday of that week and a good friend from Bellingham played with the regular Wednesday group at Tacoma Country and Golf Club the day before Halloween.  It was his last game and he still had a respectable score under 90. Doug held a 29-year membership at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club, and enjoyed every Wednesday with little exception since 1990, with a very special and competitive foursome for golf.

Fondest travels included trips to parts of the U.S., including New England, Arizona and Florida, as well as to Wales, New Zealand, Nova Scotia, and South America. Other activities included camping in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia.  Washington beaches were a favorite destination for relaxation and razor clamming.  

After retiring from the Army as a full colonel, he continued on the neurosurgery staff as clinician, retiring from Madigan in 2014.  He worked part-time as a consultant, assessing independent medical reviews and as an expert witness until his recent illness.

Doug loved and had very deep feelings for music, as attested by his daughters and medical staff in his operating rooms.    He enjoyed everything from Cat Stevens to Beethoven’s symphonies. He also loved listening to Beverly play the piano, always touched by the music of Les Miserables.  As an avid reader, he liked reading good fiction and historical non-fiction.  

One of Doug’s major awards occurred this past March 2019 when he received the Distinguished Alumni Award of Cleveland High School for outstanding achievement in the field of Medical Service in Private and Government arenas.  “Dr. Werschkul is honored as a Neurosurgeon who has served in both private and military medical roles as Chief of Neurosurgery at both Madigan and Landstuhl Army hospitals.”

Doug was a kind, gentle spirit, compassionate, and always had a smile for everyone.  He touched so many lives personally and professionally.  He will be sorely missed.  “The heart is never ready, the time is never right to say goodbye.” 

Doug was predeceased by his parents, Leslie and Eleanor; and by younger brother, David (Sue) Werschkul. He is survived by his wife, Beverly (Sherman) Werschkul; brother; Rich (Janis) Werschkul; daughters, Erika Werschkul Wrenn, Hilde Werschkul, all in the Portland area, and Gretchen (Werschkul) Ten Brook of Boston; sons, Jason Werschkul (Danielle), Christopher Werschkul of Seattle; step-daughter, Kimberly (Mark) Eibel of Gig Harbor; and special nieces and nephews, Cam (Jodi) Werschkul, Leslie (Colin) McStravik, Ben (Kate) Werschkul, Misha (Josh) Foght and Hannah (Chris) Daniels.  Grandpa Doug leaves his grandsons, Soren Wrenn of New York City, Sam and Vali Ten Brook of Boston as well as three step-grandchildren, Emily of Fort Worth, Texas, Amy and Austin Eibel of Gig Harbor.  

Colonel J. Douglas Werschkul will be interred January 6, 2020, 2:00 p.m. at Tahoma National Cemetery with full military honors.  Please be in line at the cemetery at 1:45 p.m. for the procession to the site.  Following the service, a Celebration of Life will be held at 3:00 p.m. at Meridian Valley Country Club, less than ten minutes away.  

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Madigan Foundation, c/o The President, PO Box 97215, Lakewood, WA 98494, or to the American Lake Veterans Golf Course, c/o Bruce McKenty, 9600 Veterans Drive SE, Lakewood, WA 98493.

NO FLOWERS, PLEASE.