Ira Marshall Cantin

by | May 6, 2016 | Obituaries

Norfolk —Ira Marshall Cantin, M.D., passed away at home on Wednesday, April 27, 2016.

Ira was born in Richmond, Va. on December 29, 1927. He is preceded in death by his mother Tess Kramer Cantin and father Nathan Cantin.

Ira Cantin attended Taylor Elementary School, Blair Junior High School and Maury High School and graduated early from the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City at the age of 16. He attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he received his undergraduate and medical school degrees. He received his Doctor of Medicine in 1951, but not before joining the United State Air Force. He was a flight surgeon during the Korean conflict.

After his military service, Ira Cantin completed his residency in general surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City and his orthopedic residency and fellowship at New York Hospital, also known as Columbia Presbyterian Hospital from 1953 through 1958, where he met his wife, Mary, a registered nurse. The couple wed in 1958.

Ira and Mary returned to Norfolk to be close to family. That’s when he joined an esteemed group of orthopedic surgeons to form the group, Vann, Taylor, Pole, and Cantin, where they served the needs of the Tidewater community for decades.

Cantin, a practicing orthopedic surgeon for 36 years, was one of the first surgeons to bring arthroscopic knee surgery, a non-invasive outpatient procedure, to Tidewater.

A lover of sports, Ira served as one of the team doctors for the Norfolk Neptunes and Tidewater Sharks, but his real love was baseball. For 13 years, he was the team doctor for the Tidewater Tides, which at the time was the farm team for the New York Mets. Many spring breaks, Ira would take Mary and their children to Florida for spring training. Ira remained a loyal New York Mets and Virginia Cavaliers fan.

Ira and Mary loved to travel whether by boat, plane, train or sports car.

Dr. Cantin was a proud member of the American Medical Association, Medical Society of Virginia, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the Virginia Orthopedic Society. Proud to call Norfolk his home, Ira was a lifetime member of Ohef Sholom Temple and the Sertoma Club, where he served a year as president.

After his retirement, Ira volunteered at the Children’s Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth, in part because he enjoyed riding the ferry so much across the river to get there.

Ira was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He is survived by his wife Mary of 57 years, and three children, Jane Cantin of Norfolk, Nancy Cantin Burton of Marysville, Ohio and Ira Marshall Cantin, Jr. of Virginia Beach; and three grandchildren, Laura Shelby Cantin of Wilton Manor, Fla., McKenzie Cantin Burton and Madeline Wilson Burton of Marysville, Ohio.

A memorial service was held at Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk. Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg officiated.

Contributions to the Children’s Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Norfolk chapel.