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In Memoriam |
My friend and colleague, Edward E. Morse, M.D., of West Hartford, Connecticut, died at home on 24 December 2005 from complications of chronic Parkinson’s disease.
Born in Gardner, Massachusetts, on 7 June 1932, Ed was the son of Lucius and Lillian (Wiley) Morse. In 1950, he was graduated from Gardner High School; he continued his education at Harvard College (A. B., cum laude, class of 1954) and Harvard Medical School (M.D., class of 1958). He then served as Intern and Resident in Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital (1958–60), Clinical Associate (Cancer Chemotherapy Service) at the National Institutes of Health (1960–62), and Fellow in Medicine (Hematology) at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1962–63). He became Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of the Blood Bank at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland (1963–68). He was also Director of the Red Cross Regional Blood Program in Baltimore (1967–68).
In January 1968, I first met Ed Morse in the coffee shop at Baltimore International Airport, where we talked for three hours about Ed’s candidacy for an academic appointment at the newly established Medical School of the University of Connecticut. I had recently become Chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine. During our lengthy discussion, I convinced Ed to be an Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Hematology and Blood-Bank Division. After deliberation, he accepted this appointment with the proviso that he would also be Director of the Residency Program in Laboratory Medicine.
Ed and I started to work in the laboratory of the McCook Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, in July 1968. Thus began a collegial relationship that continued for 29 years until we both retired in July 1997. During those three decades of daily interaction, Ed and I never had a serious argument or disagreement. In 1971, when construction of the University of Connecticut Health Center was completed, we moved into splendid new hospital laboratories in Farmington. Ed was soon promoted to Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Professor of Medicine. In addition to his major responsibilities at the medical school, Ed was Medical Director of the Connecticut Red Cross Blood Program (1969–73) and Consultant to the Connecticut Red Cross Blood Program (1973–99). He was a driving force in designing and constructing the Connecticut Red Cross Blood Program’s new building in Farmington. Its library was named for him at the time of his retirement.
Ed was certified in hematology and blood banking by the American Board of Pathology; he was a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and he was especially active in the Association of Clinical Scientists. He served as Vice-President and President of the Association and as Director of Scientific Sections. He was recognized by the Association as Clinical Scientist of the Year (1980) and received its Diploma of Honor (1988) and Gold-Headed Cane (2000). For thirty years (1975–2005), Ed was a member of the Board of Editors of the Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science,
Ed was a seasoned clinician, a gifted researcher, a capable administrator, and an inspiring teacher. He was an author or coauthor of 80 scientific papers (including 29 in the Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science) on hematologic topics. His research was focused on fibrinogenopathies, blood component therapy, coagulation factor assays, hemoglobinopathies, and erythropoietin; he collaborated in a pioneering study in 1966 on hyroxyethyl starch infusions in surgical patients.
Ed’s greatest professional legacy was his mentoring of residents and postdoctoral fellows in laboratory medicine. He supervised and encouraged 180 postdoctoral trainees, several of whom are now among our nation’s scientific leaders.
Ed had a passionate love of music, singing baritone in church choirs throughout his life. While in high school, he played leading roles in operettas and musicales. At Harvard College, he sang in the chapel choir and Harvard Glee Club. Accompanied by his wife, Janet, on piano or harp, he often sang lieder at the musicales of the Association of Clinical Scientists. He was active in church affairs and was an avid tennis player.
Ed was a loving and devoted husband and father. He and Janet enjoyed 51 years of marriage. He is survived by his wife, Janet (Jillson) Morse; two daughters, Deborah Callahan and her husband, Col. William Callahan, of Kailua, HI, and Sandra Morse and her husband, Christopher Durbin, of Los Gatos, CA; two sons, David Morse and his wife, Cynthia, of West Hartford, and Timothy Morse and his wife, Elaine, of Bristol, CT; his sister and her husband, Rev. Alston and Beverly Chace, of Brewster, MA; and six grand-children: Kimberly, Sean, and Jason Callahan, and Kathleen, Emily, and Amanda Morse.
When all is said and done, Ed Morse was a wise, understanding, scholarly, level-headed, even-tempered, modest, and perceptive individual. He always kept his promises and he tempered his advice with gentle humor and the twinkle of his glance. He was a beloved colleague to many of us, past and present, at the University of Connecticut Health Center and the Association of Clinical Scientists. Our hearts go out in deep sympathy to his wife, Janet, and to his entire family.
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