Weeks before his death, Doylestown Township philanthropist Marvin "Marv" Woodall made a $100,000 challenge grant to the Bucks County Herald Foundation, the largest single contribution the nonprofit newsroom has received since it converted to nonprofit status in 2021.
Woodall, a founding member of the Herald Foundation board, died July 31 at age 88 after a short illness. A public memorial service will be held Tuesday, Aug. 11, at Doylestown Presbyterian Church, with visitation at 9 a.m. and a service at 11 a.m.
The grant, reported by the Bucks County Herald, is structured as a community challenge meant to inspire at least 500 readers to contribute to the Herald's Summer News Challenge, which runs through Aug. 31.
Bridget Wingert, the Herald's founding editor and current Foundation board chair, said in the Herald's Aug. 6 tribute that Woodall's business acumen was guiding the Foundation board even in his final days.
Medical device legacy
Woodall was not a physician. He was a medical device executive who led the Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems team that developed the PALMAZ-SCHATZ coronary stent, the first approved in the U.S. Since its FDA approval in August 1994, the device has been credited with saving at least 50 million lives, according to the Herald.
In 2015, Woodall met Temple University Hospital cardiologist Dr. Riyaz Bashir at a conference in Philadelphia. The two co-founded Thrombolex in New Britain Borough in 2016 to develop the BASHIR Endovascular Catheter for treating acute pulmonary embolism. The company, headquartered at 75 Britain Drive, secured a $50 million Series A financing round in March 2026.
Bashir told the Herald it was "purely Marv's effective leadership" that brought the catheter technology to market.
Local philanthropy
The Woodalls' giving transformed cardiac care close to home. Their financial support led to the creation of the Woodall Center for Heart and Vascular Care at Doylestown Hospital, the system's first Chest Pain Center. They also gave $1 million to establish the Marvin and Dee Ann Woodall Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery.
James L. Brexler, former CEO of Doylestown Health, told the Herald that Woodall was the driving force behind the system's move into advanced cardiology and was engaged far beyond writing checks.
Woodall also chaired the board of Heritage Conservancy, the Doylestown Township-based land preservation nonprofit. Chris Chandor, his successor as chair and CEO of Penn's Grant Realty, told the Herald that he inherited a stronger organization because of Woodall's leadership. At Bucks County Playhouse, Woodall chaired the Playhouse Artists fundraising board.
Woodall's wife, Dee Ann, died less than a year before him. They had been married 67 years.
Remembering Marv
His son Mark, a retired American Airlines pilot in Grapevine, Texas, told the Herald that his father's greatest passion outside work was golf. They played together in Mexico, Palm Springs and at St. Andrews in Scotland.
"He'd turn his phone off as soon as we got to the course," Mark recalled. "We'd play 72 holes and have a big dinner and then he'd turn the phone back on."
The memorial service Tuesday, Aug. 11, at Doylestown Presbyterian Church is open to the public. The Herald Foundation's Summer News Challenge accepts contributions through Aug. 31.
