Steven Jay Oxler MD

Steven Jay Oxler, MD, FACEP, CAPT USN (ret), 76, of Moorestown, NJ entered into eternal rest Thursday, January 4th, 2024. Steve was born in Charleston, SC on October 25, 1947 to the late Herbert and Eva (Levy) Oxler. After graduating from Rivers High School, Steve attended Clemson University and began his lifelong support of Clemson athletics. Upon graduation, he headed back to Charleston to attend Medical School at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was commissioned in 1969 as a Navy Health Professions Scholar, and upon completion of his Doctor of Medicine degree, he traveled to Philadelphia, PA to begin his career in the United States Navy as a resident in Internal Medicine. He was stationed at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital until his separation from Active Duty in 1979. He joined the Navy Reserves in 1982, and was recalled to Active Duty in 1991 as a member of Fleet Hospital 15, serving in Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia. He retired as a CAPT from the USN in 2003. Steve loved being an Emergency Medicine Physician: interacting with colleagues, teaching and mentoring medical students, residents, Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics, and serving and caring for the greater community of South Jersey. By the time he retired from clinical medicine in 2017, Steve considered himself fortunate to have formed partnerships with Emergency Medicine colleagues at West Jersey Health, Zurbrugg and Rancocas Hospitals and Underwood (now Inspira). He had been an instructor in the Paramedic Sciences since 1985. Steve was an active member of the board of trustees for Healthcare Quality Strategies Incorporated. Steve’s love of teaching and Emergency Medicine extended into the classrooms of University of the Sciences, Rowan University and Rowan College at Burlington County where he taught Anatomy and Physiology and Disaster Preparedness up until December 2023. Steve was a consultant to the Defense Medical Training Institute at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. He was a subject matter expert in the fields of Mass Casualty Triage and the medical treatment of Chemical and Biological Warfare. An avid sports fan, Steve combined his love of boxing and mixed martial arts with his clinical expertise as a ringside physician beginning in 1995 with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. In 2014, he was inducted into the New Jersey State Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He continued to work boxing and MMA events until 2023. When not ringside, Steve could be found rinkside, cheering on the Philadelphia Flyers, as a 30-plus year season ticket holder. Steve was a super fan of field hockey and women’s lacrosse, especially teams his daughter Lizzy played on or coached. He never missed a game and was a fixture on many sidelines over the years. There was not a craft or jewelry show Steve did not attend in the greater Philadelphia area, nor a Motown or Classic Rock concert he missed. He loved to travel to Las Vegas and nearby Atlantic City and Philadelphia to hone his poker skills and visit his family and friends. He cherished his summers on Cape Cod, where he saw family, ate oysters at happy hour, and spent time on the beach. In the last ten years, Steve became a road warrior, making frequent trips to and from Louisiana to visit Lizzy, his daughter, as she worked on and completed her doctorate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2022. Steve is survived by his wife Karen Flaherty Oxler, RADM USN (ret) whom he met at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital and was married to for 41 years. He leaves a daughter, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Oxler of West Chester, PA. His is also survived by a sister Sherri Dangerfield (Michael) of Charleston, SC, brother Jeffrey P. Oxler of Vancouver, Canada as well as nieces Erin (Joe) Oxler, Amie (Mike) Armet, and Kari (Graydon) Aguiar. The family will be receiving guests at Lewis Funeral Home located at 78 East Main Street in Moorestown, NJ on Saturday, February 10th from 2-4 pm. Burial with Military Funeral Honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks to consider a memorial gift to Moorestown Paramedics and/or to Westtown School (c/o Office of Advancement. 975 Westtown Road; West Chester, PA 19382.) Gifts will be designated to Westtown’s women’s lacrosse and field hockey programs.

Steven Jay Oxler MD

January 4, 2024