Bruce Mabine, retired OB-GYN physician and award-winning associate professor at Temple, has died at 76
“He was the kind of person whose presence left an impression long after he had left the room,” his wife said.
Bruce Mabine knew he wanted to be a doctor after he was mesmerized by an X-ray of his own hand when he was 10. So he graduated from what is now the Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine in 1977.
He knew he wanted to support expectant mothers, babies, and families. So he specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, and delivered thousands of babies over his 43-year medical career.
He knew he wanted to lift up and educate students. So he taught thousands of aspiring doctors in labs and classrooms, and mentored other health professionals for more than two decades as an associate professor at Temple.
He also volunteered at clinics, looked after individuals in need wherever they were, and worked at grueling jobs that paid more in satisfaction than money. “Money is not the only issue in life,” he told the Courier-Post of Camden in 1992. “This is a good way to strike a balance. It’s gratifying to help someone who really needs it.”
On Monday, Oct. 5, Dr. Mabine died of cancer at his home in Philadelphia. He was 76.
“He cared deeply about his patients, colleagues, learners, and health equity,” said his wife, Lynda Thomas-Mabine, also a physician. “He was the kind of person whose presence left an impression long after he had left the room.”
Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Mabine was an associate professor and director of community services for Temple’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences from 2000 until his retirement in 2024. He worked at Temple, Episcopal, and Jeanes Hospitals, directed the physician assistants clinical rotation, and earned an excellence in teaching award in 2015 from the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Earlier, beginning in 1981, he worked for 19 years at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden and was chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the center’s Osborn Family Health Center. He spoke Spanish and French as well as English, and went out of his way to treat expectant mothers dealing with malnutrition, drug and alcohol abuse, and other issues.
“Bruce was a wonderful person and a great doctor,” a former colleague at Osborn said in an online tribute. Another called him a “happy, kind, and caring man.”
His concern for others was featured in The Inquirer and Courier-Post, and he answered readers’ questions in a Courier-Post column called “The Doctor is In.” He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Hampton University in Virginia in 1973 and routinely recruited Hampton graduates to the Temple medical school.
He and others also fundraised nearly $1 million to support scholarships at Hampton. One of his favorite sayings was “Do the right thing even when no one is watching, especially when no one is watching.”
His wife said: “Bruce’s life was defined by purpose, intellect, service, and an unwavering commitment to others.”
Bruce Junious Mabine was born Aug. 29, 1950. He grew up near the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia and was on the high school gymnastics and chess teams.
His wife said he called himself a “major nerd.” She praised his “dry sense of humor” and “brilliant mind.”
He graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1967, became an officer for the Gamma Epsilon Theta fraternity at Hampton, and edited the minority students newsletter at Temple medical school.
He married Gwendolyn Watts, and they had a son, Kenneth. After a divorce, he married Joanne Smith, and they had a daughter, Joanna. Joanne Mabine died in 2001.
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Dr. Mabine met Lynda Thomas at Temple, and they married in 2006, lived in Lower Gwynedd and Philadelphia, and traveled together for years on memorable trips to Paris, Hawaii, Florida, Virginia, Delaware, and elsewhere. “We built homes filled with love, warmth, laughter, family, music, and faith,” his wife said.
Dr. Mabine enjoyed music, especially Smokey Robinson, the Delfonics, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. He could hear colors and see sounds, his wife said, and he spun records as a popular disc jockey at family and social events.
He loved peanut butter cups and was a huge Eagles fan.
“He lived with purpose,” his wife said. “He served with integrity. He gave generously. And he loved deeply.”
In addition to his wife and children, Dr. Mabine is survived by other relatives. A brother died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Salem Baptist Church, 2741 Woodland Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001. A service is to follow.
Donations in his name may be made to the Hampton University Ogre Phi Ogre 1 Endowed Scholarship, 100 E. Queen St., Hampton, Va. 23668.
