Dr. Martin Braun III

Marty was born in South Carolina in 1945, to parents Martin Braun Jr and Margery Braun (nee Carter). He was raised in the Irvington neighborhood of Baltimore, along with siblings John and Mary Beth. He attended Monastery grade school and Loyola High School. After 3 years of undergrad at University of Maryland at College Park, Marty was accepted to the University of Maryland Medical School. While in medical school, he met Roberta (Bobbie) Humphreys who drew his blood at the local blood bank (she was also in medical school). They married in 1969, and he graduated from medical school in 1970. They had 3 children: Alicia (born 1971), Marty (born 1973), and Marisa (born 1974). After Marty did his medical internship at Washington Hospital Center 1970 - 71, he entered military service with the US Air Force. He trained as a flight surgeon in San Antonio, TX and then was assigned to Travis Air Force Base in California. During the Vietnam War, he flew on supply missions with troops from 1971 - 1973. Marty was accepted into dermatology residency at the University of Michigan in 1973. While he was there, Dr. William Taylor introduced Marty to the Mohs surgery procedure (then performed with in-vivo tissue fixatives, rather than the frozen sections used today). Due to his great interest in the Mohs procedure, Marty spent the summer of 1974 training with Dr. Mohs himself. He subsequently performed all of Michigan’s Mohs surgeries during his residency. After finishing his residency in 1976, Marty joined the George Washington University Dermatology department. In 1983 he left to establish his own solo Mohs surgery practice in 1983, in Foggy Bottom. For years he spent time weekly teaching dermatology and dermatology surgery to residents at GW and at Washington Hospital Center. He was joined in private practice by his daughter Alicia in 2001, his son Marty in 2004, and his daughter Marisa in 2006. One of the highlights of Marty’s career was treating the basal cell carcinoma on President Reagan’s nose twice. The first time, in 1985, Admiral William Narva, Vice President of USUHS, called Marty to ask him to perform the surgery in secret. Marty brought his surgical instruments to the White House and was brought by Reagan’s personal physician, Dr. John Hutton, to an operating room in the basement of the White House. They were joined by Dr. Theodore Parlette, Chairman of Dermatology at Bethesda Naval Hospital. No Secret Service agents were present or involved. After Marty took the layer of skin, he needed to bring it back to his office to be processed. Dr. Hutton escorted Dr.s Braun and Pareltte through the White House to the exit, while Marty held the specimen in a petri dish in his hand, hidden by his coat over his arm. The cancer was cleared in one stage, and the doctors returned to the White House and sutured the wound closed. Marty and Dr. Parlette treated a second BCC for President Reagan in 1987, this time at the National Naval Medical Center. Two stages were required, and the wound was closed by plastic surgeon Dr. Diane Colgan. Unfortunately, Marty was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in his early 60s. He stopped performing Mohs surgery but continued to practice medicine until his retirement in 2015. Marty’s hobbies included hunting, skeet shooting, fishing, crabbing, sketching, and watching movies (he must have seen Gladiator 100 times). He loved crabcakes and Ledo’s pizza. His favorite place was the farm he and Bobbie purchased in the 1990s, on Kent island. He will be remembered by his many patients and colleagues for his clinical focus, attention to detail, and superb surgical skill. Those close to him will always remember his kindness, generosity, and his readiness to laugh. Dr. Martin Braun III passed away on April 12, 2023 at age 78 due to Parkinson’s disease. He is survived by his wife Roberta, his children Alicia, Marty, and Marisa, and nine grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held at Murphy Funeral Home in Falls Church VA on April 28, 2023, 5 - 7:30 PM.. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution in Martin's memory to the Parkinson's Foundation below. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.murphy-fh.com for the Braun family.