Kendall Ann Marcus

Dr. Kendall Ann Marcus was born on November 23, 1962 to parents Robert Marcus and Mabel Kendall. She was raised in Maryland, attended the University of Maryland for her undergraduate education and went on to receive a medical doctorate from the university's School of Medicine. In her early career, she worked at the Washington Hospital Center from 1998 to 2000. Kendall then began working for the Food & Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) as a medical reviewer in the Division of Antiviral Products (DVAP). She took on successive leadership roles in DAVP and was the Deputy Director for Safety in that division. For the past 8 years, Kendall was the division director for the Division of Dermatology and Dentistry. She was also a caring physician to many patients at the VA medical center in Washington, D.C., with a particular focus on providing primary care to HIV+ patients.

Kendall was a devoted wife and loving parent. She helped raise her two step-daughters, Hana and Taylor (wife Cait), with her first husband, Christopher Wuerker. In 2014, she rekindled her high school relationship with Mike Guerrieri, and they married in 2018. She is also survived by her half-siblings Barry Marcus (wife Debba), Ellen Marcus (husband Greg), Janet Marcus (husband Michael), and Paula Marcus (husband Steve), and her brother Rob Marcus (wife Sharon). Kendall was a woman of many passions and talents. She was a stained-glass artist, cyclist, hiker, yogi, and kayaker. She was a skilled recipe-finder and loved eating great food. She enjoyed reading and was an avid traveler, including trips to Italy, France, Vietnam, Mexico, and Thailand. Kendall and Mike spent many hours gardening together, and delighted in watching birds visit their yard. She was a dear friend and colleague to many, who valued her compassion, sharp sense of humor, and quick intellect.

Kendall fought the two-headed monster of depression and anxiety most of her adult life and she finally lost that fight and took her own life on Saturday, August 13. We encourage friends, family, and coworkers affected by her loss to review the resources provided by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Her memorial service will take place on Tuesday, August 30 at 11am at Joseph Gawler's Sons funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please honor Kendall with a donation to one of the following organizations in her name: National Alliance for Mental Illness, World Central Kitchen, DC Abortion Fund, NARAL, and Whitman-Walker Health.

Eulogies from Dr. Kendall Ann Marcus' Memorial Service Held Tuesday August 30, 2022

read by: Mike Guerrieri

Kind, Intelligent, Funny, Beautiful, Compassionate, Caring, Generous, Decisive, Flexible, Distract-able, Nature loving, Athletic, Fast-walking, Stoic, Strong.

These are some of the adjectives that describe my beloved Kendall. But so do these: Anxious and Depressed.

Kendall struggled with anxiety and depression most of her adult life. That may come as a surprise to some of you because she kept it well-hid. It was well-managed for most of the time we were together but starting last fall, it worsened.

She did everything recommended to treat her illness: therapy and medication and she worked hard at it. And she was surrounded by many people who loved and supported her.

Despite all this, it didn’t work. Since the end of last year, she made several attempts to take her life. On August 13, she went through with it. This does not mean that she was weak or selfish. Not at all. She just finally succumbed to her illness.

We have many doctors here today who are Kendall’s medical school classmates and work colleagues. You particularly know that, sometimes, treatments do not have a successful outcome. As one of Kendall’s dear friends said to me:

People get cancer. And fight for years and years. And we give them drugs to try to cure or at least prolong survival. And often, ultimately, people say “I have had enough. I can’t fight any more”. And people accept and support that decision and say “you fought the good fight”. When treatment stops, cancer takes their life. I think this is the same, only not recognized as that. She fought for a long time. She tried what medicine had to offer. But she reached the point of not being able to continue the fight. The difference is cancer takes the life. The destruction on the body is visible. Mental illness does not per se, but the sense of “being done fighting” the illness is there. So, she elected the only recourse to stop the long fight.

Kendall left a note with final words. It contained a message to you: “…tell all of our friends I love them and I’m sorry. All the love you all have for me wasn’t enough.”

Given the limits of our current medical and scientific understanding, please know that there was nothing that any of us could have done that would have altered the path she was on that resulted in this terrible loss.

I wanted you to understand the reason for this sad occasion. But I don’t want us to define Kendall for how she died but how she lived. I want you to know more about Kendall and what she meant to me.

As many of you know, we were high school classmates. In a case of foreshadowing, we even played husband in wife in a drama club production as documented in our senior yearbook. We even went on one date. Why there wasn’t a second was probably due to my teenage insecurity. We reconnected in 2014 through Facebook where we were surprised to learn that we were both separated. That led to our second date some 35 years later and to the best 8 years of my life.

We shared many passions: Food, nature, gardening, biking, yoga, reading, listening to live music, and spending time with friends.

Kendall also enjoyed working on her stained glass and golfing with Katie.

Our interest in food bordered on obsession. Kendall was a master recipe finder and I love to cook. And we both loved to eat. We enjoyed eating food from the seasons and so we almost never missed a weekend at the farmer’s market. We also enjoyed dining out and ate at some amazing restaurants.

Kendall loved to travel. We traveled together to Italy, Oregon, Orcas Island, a cross-country trip to Colorado to help move my daughter Sara, multiple trips to California, many trips to NYC, and a few visits to the shore. She also visited Vietnam and Thailand with her friend, Katie, and many other places before we reunited.

We also designed and cared for a lovely lawn-free garden in our yard and enjoyed watching wildlife visit it. It did take a fair amount of work to maintain it but it was made better by working together.

We attended countless live music events including many of the artists you heard in our play list that was playing earlier. She even dragged me to a few musicals.

I felt completely myself with her and finally understood Corinthians 13 when we heard it at our friends’ Dave & Kim’s wedding…

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

That pretty well sums up our love.

We said “I love you” every day (usually several times a day). I never took her love and friendship for granted. She made me laugh every day. I was as satisfied just sitting quietly in a room with her as I was doing all the other things we enjoyed together. Everything was better with Kendall. Every little thing. And what I’m going to miss most about her…is every little thing.

I’ve cried a lot over these last several weeks and I will certainly cry more. I think it has been about 80% sadness but 20% gratitude for the love and kindness of family and friends. The support I’ve received has been very heart-warming and has lifted me up. While there have been many, I want to especially thank Judy, Olivia, Hana, Monica, the Saras, Barry Smith, Jill & Doug, Steve & Shelly, Craig & Barb, Eve & Richard, Becky, Eliza, Ligia, Jess, and Denisa. You have been the girders of the emotional roller coaster I’ve been on assuring me that it will be a wild and sometimes scary ride, but ultimately a safe one. I love you and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And thank you all for being here in person or via the live stream. It means so much to me.

read by: Olivia Guerrieri

I’d like to say a few words today – literally, I want to talk about a few words. Kendall and I bonded over our love of word puzzles. Many nights, I would come over for dinner with her and my dad, and after we’d eat, she’d pull out her laptop and I’d get out my phone, and the three of us (Dad and Kendall working as a team) would compete to see who could finish Spelling Bee the fastest. Usually, we’d give up after the ‘Amazing’ rank, and turn our collective focus to the New York Times crossword – unless it was after Wednesday, in which case, those crosswords are just impossible.

There are a few words in particular that I’ve been thinking about in the time since Kendall’s death:

An eight letter word for a birdseed thief: squirrel.

Dad and Kendall built a beautiful backyard together, and it attracted lots of wildlife. They loved watching the birds, but my favorite is always the squirrels. I love watching their acrobatics as they dart around the yard and attempt with relentless dedication to access the birdfeeder. Squirrels remind me of another thing I shared with Kendall – ADHD. There’s a common joke about people with ADHD being distracted by squirrels, but I actually think squirrels are a pretty good mascot for ADHDers. We’re energetic, plucky, passionate, and fiercely determined when we’re interested in something. Kendall had all of those qualities in abundance.

A ten letter word for baring your soul: vulnerable.

Kendall sometimes struggled with talking about what she was feeling, and I can deeply, deeply relate. My therapist described the experience of losing her as a crash course in being vulnerable, and it certainly has been. We’ve been incredibly lucky to be surrounded by offers for help, and I’ve had to practice leaning on my community, trusting them to be there for me, and allowing them to support me, even though admitting when I need that support is incredibly vulnerable for me. I’m grateful to Kendall for this final gift of time to practice my vulnerability.

A six letter word for my least favorite chore: dishes.

I’ve had dinner at my dad’s house more times than I can count over the years he and Kendall were together, and she always, always did the dishes. My dad loves to cook, and she’d clean up behind him as he went, sometimes even putting stuff away before he was finished with it. After dinner, she’d clear the table and load the dishwasher. I’ve used this many times as an example of what I want in a relationship – someone to do the dishes when I cook – and it’s sort of a joke, but I also mean it. It’s so beautiful when a couple balances each other, even in small ways like this, seeming to operate as one complete unit. Part of that unit is gone now, and I’m heartbroken for my dad.

A seven letter word for your father’s wife: stepmom?

Kendall was married to my dad, so technically she was my stepmom, but that word never felt quite right to me. Kendall didn’t raise me; she came into my life when I was already an adult. But she became a member of my family, shared dinners and conversations, made my dad the happiest I’ve known him, and cared for me deeply. So what’s a seven letter word for that relationship? Well for me, it’s not stepmom – it’s Kendall.

I will miss her very much.

read by: Ligia Pic-Aluas

Dear family and friends of Kendall’s.

I would like to say a couple of words about my friend Kendall who is no longer with us. As hard as it is.

We first met when she was a resident at WHC and I had finished my ID fellowship there many decades ago. She followed a similar career path, completed an ID fellowship soon after me and then she joined me in my practice.

She was a superb clinician who took our oath as physicians “first do no harm” to the heart.

It was her guiding principle in the practice of medicine and a great source of many discussions and arguments on what is best and least damaging to each patient she cared for. It was natural for her after she moved to FDA to oversee Safety in the Antiviral Division.

Over the years Kendall became much more to me than a fellow physician and practice partner.

She became my friend. We shared ups and down in pour personal lives and for me she was a source of great support and understanding. I can only hope I returned at least a fraction of what she gave me.

She was a sophisticated, beautiful and interesting woman, who could give wise advice on how to handle the many roadblocks life tends to throw in our way. She was accepting and liberal, funny and at times self-deprecating, a great company for hiking, appreciating good food and a glass of wine.

More than that, she cared about nature and the world we live in, a quality that is unfortunately too rare in people our age.

I am left without my friend Kendall. Her suffering in the end was too great to bear, and left her with no hope.

My dear Kendall, I fully understand my love was not enough.

read by: Katie Laessig

Hello, everyone. I’m Katie Laessig and this is Judy Racoosin. We are medical school classmates of Kendall’s from the University of Maryland, and also FDA colleagues. Judy was the pioneer in our med school class who joined FDA in 1996. I’d lost track of Kendall after med school until she returned to DC to do her internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at the Washington Hospital Center. I’m also trained in infectious diseases, and we would periodically see each other at a local medical society meeting-the Greater Washington Infectious Diseases Society. I joined FDA in the Division of Antiviral Drug Products in early 1999. Kendall was quite interested in the Agency, and we got together for dinner a couple of times to talk about what working at FDA was like. When a medical officer position became open in 2000, she interviewed and joined the same Division, quickly becoming a skilled and savvy reviewer. Although Kendall and I didn’t work directly together, we had the same core group of close friends in the Division, often managing to find time to eat a quick lunch together, discussing work and our personal lives-she always loved to share stories of her stepdaughters. Even after Kendall moved on to the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products, she would still find time for lunch with her former antiviral colleagues-moments we all cherished.

There are so many memories from Kendall’s 22 years at FDA - it’s been a challenge to distill down! Thank you to all who shared theirs with Judy and me. There are many consistent themes throughout that no one who knew, worked, and loved Kendall will find surprising:

* She was a wonderful listener who could also tell the truth without hurting anyone’s feelings, without being judgmental or critical; her advice, whether personal or professional, was always offered in the best interest of the person to whom she was speaking-characteristics that also made her an excellent physician when dealing with patients; and had an excellent moral compass

* When she was promoted to team leader in antivirals, she had a crew of new medical reviewers whom she called “her ducklings”. She trained them and helped them grow into their jobs quickly. She is remembered as being kind, down to earth, approachable, smart and fierce. Even after moving on to the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products, Kendall remained a mentor and friend, making time for coffee or lunch and always ready to talk about career issues with sage advice.

* She was also an excellent arbitrator and negotiator which are invaluable life skills but particularly important when it comes to dealing with the pharmaceutical industry. For example, at one meeting she did have to admonish one company’s representative for telling her how to make her regulatory decisions!

* She was a very strong patient advocate, and never forgot that they are the Agency’s most important stakeholders

One historic accomplishment during her time in antivirals was the approval of a combination medication called Truvada for the prevention of HIV infection. She volunteered to help out an overburdened colleague by taking on the lead role in managing the review of this new drug application. At the time, it was quite controversial for a number of reasons including there were no previously approved preventative treatments for HIV, some believed availability of a pill would promote promiscuity and abandonment of safe sex. The information included in this approval package was presented at one of FDA’s public advisory committee meetings, which a couple of colleagues have referred to as the worst ever because it went on for hours and hours. Kendall navigated this with her usual confidence and courage. The ultimate approval of this drug transformed the way prevention of HIV infection was viewed and has, no doubt, saved countless lives and prevented millions from becoming infected, both in the US and worldwide. This is just one of many examples of the amazing things Kendall achieved.

Another important component of her career was that she continued to see patients throughout her tenure at FDA at the VA Medical Center. Not only did she see outpatients in clinic a half day a week, but she also did a month on service seeing inpatients, which included teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. Being able to do this required her to manage her FDA workload, and stay current in the management of countless infectious disease issues that are encountered in complicated, hospitalized patients, demonstrating her command of infectious diseases. While there were others of us who saw outpatients, very few took on the challenge of continuing to see inpatients. And this passion for her patients strongly influenced how she approached her drug development and regulation.

Kendall was promoted twice while in antivirals, from primary medical reviewer to medical team leader, and then Deputy Director of Safety before ultimately moving onto the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products where she became the Division Director. Although she joked, during one of our many games of bad golf, about being too old to learn a new specialty, Kendall being Kendall, of course she did and did it well.

Before I turn things over to Judy to cover the second chapter of Kendall’s remarkable career, I’m going to take a couple minutes to discuss our golf. We started taking lessons together, mostly as a favor to me so I could meet men (don’t listen, Ed). But we quickly discovered how therapeutic it is to whack golf balls, even poorly, and spend a few hours walking around the course, talking and sharing a beer. We refused to drive the carts, insisting we weren’t that old. Of course, there would be young guys who would come zooming up behind us in their carts. We would occasionally let them play through, thinking they were better players. Only to find they were not!! We primarily played at public courses in DC and MD, especially at Hains Point and the Rock Creek Park course. There is so much foliage and rough at both courses, the many balls that we lost in the woods and tall grass were a source of much amusement. We attempted to move to fluorescent colored balls to try to reduce the number lost. Alas, it didn’t work! I will treasure the memories of my golf games with Kendall, and so many other memories, forever.

read by: Judy Racoosin

In 2014 Kendall was promoted to Director in the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products.

In Derm and Dental, Kendall shepherded the development of treatments for less common skin diseases for which there were no approved treatments, and many of these products reached approval during her tenure, including treatments for pediatric conditions, and accomplishment she was particularly proud of.

She was as strong an advocate for new treatments for dental and oral diseases as she was for skin diseases, despite that being a much smaller focus of the division. Her personal experience caring for patients at the VA motivated her to encourage the development of therapeutics that could improve oral health and dentition.

A theme that came up again and again this past week as I spoke to friends and colleagues was Kendall’s focus on improving the lives of patients. Kendall was an early adopter and trailblazer for a new type of public meeting called “patient focused drug development” where patients and their advocacy groups met with FDA to talk about how their illnesses affected their lives, and the aspects of their illnesses that could most benefit from new treatments. She believed in the importance of patient-reported outcomes as a way of evaluating the efficacy of new drugs, and she was a frequent participant with the International Dermatology Outcome Measures group. In this organization’s tribute email sent to its members upon hearing of Kendall’s passing, they stated that, “Dr. Marcus’ support of IDEOM’s workgroups was always a positive presence. She went out of her way to engage with our patient stakeholders at every meeting. We will sorely miss her sage input and kindness.”

The other theme I heard repeatedly was Kendall’s encouragement and support of her friends, colleagues, and mentees in their career development. In my own case, back in 2011 when I was considering moving up to the job of Deputy Director of Safety in the Division of Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Addiction Products, I sought Kendall’s advice. At the time she had been doing that same job for several years in the Antivirals Division. Without a moment’s hesitation she said, Judy- you can do this job. A few years ago, when it had been announced that there would be 5 new divisions as part of a reorganization of the Office of New Drugs, Joe Toerner, a friend and colleague of Kendall’s from the Antivirals division, commented offhandedly to Kendall- I wonder who will be leading those divisions? Again, without hesitation she remarked to Joe- You will! She turned out to be right… and served as a mentor for Joe along the way. Joe and I are just two of examples of many stories we’ve heard about Kendall’s encouragement and support of friends and colleagues.

It has been a blessing for me to have Kendall as a work colleague for so many years, but when it comes down to it, it was her friendship that meant so much more. Back in some dark days in 2018 when I was recovering from a head injury and hardly able to leave the house, Kendall introduced me to the New York Times spelling bee anagramming game that she and Mike did together every day. It became a daily bright spot for me as well, leading to many text messages with Kendall over the ensuing months… did you get the pangram? What letter does it start with?

Beyond sharing the spelling bee game, Kendall, Katie, and I shared many fun theater outings over the years. Our hearts will be heavy, but we will continue going to the theater, toasting our dear friend Kendall and keeping her memory alive in our hearts.

Zichrona livracha - May her memory be for a blessing.

read by: Hana Wuerker

Hello. My name is Hana Wuerker and if you don’t know me, I am Kendall’s step-daughter from her previous marriage with Chris Wuerker. I’d like to also acknowledge my sister, Taylor, who I stand here representing.

I’d like to begin with gratitude. I’m grateful for this room full of people who love Kendall dearly. I’m grateful to Kendall for bringing Mike and his family into my life. I’m also grateful to my dad for bringing Kendall into my life.

Kendall’s presence in my life goes back farther than my own memories. We were first introduced to Kendall when I was 5 and my sister was 8. Though not the first interaction with Kendall, one of my earliest memories is a trip to Disneyland where Kendall and my dad had to take Taylor and I out of A Bug’s Life 4-D show, screaming, mid-ride because we were so terrified. I imagine her after that experience saying to herself, “yeah I want in on this family.”

Kendall was a monumental figure in the house where we grew. Too many moments to capture in 2 minutes. I could tell you about the time she first taught me to shave my legs, I could tell you all the meals she made for us (some of which remain Taylor’s go-to favorites). I could tell you about my first experience with depression at age 12 when Kendall comforted me and one day, when I was feeling particularly low, announced “come on, we’re going to go get you Uggs.”

I could tell you about her love of theater and how she inspired my love of the theater. We once went to see A Streetcar Named Desire at the Kennedy Center starring Cate Blanchette and if she were here right now she would tell you she DID make eye contact with Cate. Just this last May, Kendall came up to visit me in New York and we did what we always do — we saw a play, we laughed, and we ate good food — three of our greatest loves.

I’d like to end with gratitude. For you. Forever.

On the Death of the Beloved - John O’Donohue

"Though we need to weep your loss,

You dwell in that safe place in our hearts,

Where no storm or night or pain can reach you

Let us not look for you only in memory,

Where we would grow lonely without you.

You would want us to find you in presence,

Beside us when beauty brightens,

When kindness glows

And music echoes eternal tones."