Mortimer Milton Labes

Mort (Mair) Labes was born in Newton, Massachusetts on September 9,1929. He was a long-time resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Longboat Key, Florida. He enjoyed his final years in Sarasota, Florida. He died peacefully at Tidewell Hospice of Sarasota on July 10, 2023.

In the weeks prior to his death, Mort shared "I'm having my celebration of life now" as he was surrounded by his children, grandchildren and extended family and friends. The joy on his face when he held his first great grandchild was an unforgettable experience. During this time he sang, shared stories and displayed his unique humor, strength and patience. He modeled to all of us an extraordinary approach to saying goodbye with honor and dignity.

Mort was a loving father to 6 children, 8 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild from his first marriage to Mary Lawson Wright and to one stepson and 3 grandchildren from his second marriage to Dina Shachar Labes. He is preceded in death by his daughter Karen Labes and his sister Frances (Tzivia) Portnoy. He is survived by Daniel Labes, David Labes, Jon Labes, Miriam Labes, Peter Labes and Ohad Shachar. Mort had immense love and admiration for all of his grandchildren who affectionately called him Saba.

Mort was a chemist, researcher and educator. He graduated with an A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1950 and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954. His early work as a research chemist for Sprague Electric and as the technical director at the Franklin Institute led to a long and meaningful career as a chemistry professor at Temple University. Mort was a research advisor to 33 graduate students, and he had 46 postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory. His students continue to make a significant impact on both academic and industrial science.

Mort lived an exceptional life and was an expert in his chosen field of liquid crystals and polymer science. He contributed to the world of science and technology in large and impactful ways; from his groundbreaking 20 patents to his 327 publications. He also edited 3 books related to organic chemistry and liquid crystals. One of his proudest accomplishments was his work on a polymer called polysulfur nitride which was first discovered in 1910 and had sat dormant in the literature for 60 years. He published a paper on it in 1974 that brought it to the attention of the scientific community. This paper was important to him as it stimulated hundreds of scientists to study the polymer. A physicist and two chemists researched the subject further and eventually received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000. Mort's work was cited as the inspiration.

Mort was an honored member of The International Liquid Crystal Society. The pioneering work of these scientists opened up the field of liquid crystals for use in many of the displays and devices that are an integral part of our lives today. Mort's research was supported by The National Science Foundation. He held visiting professorships in Israel at the Weizmann Institute and in Japan at the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Professorship. He was a recipient of the Philadelphia Section American Chemical Society Award for Creative Research and the Paul Eberman Research Award from Temple University. He was the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals for over 50 years up until his passing at 93 years old.

Mort loved traveling all over the world and had a multitude of cultural experiences. He relished in the flavors of a good meal and had a deep appreciation and knowledge of dance, theater, art, film, history and music. His keen mind made him particularly skilled at Jeopardy, Scrabble and Poker. In his early years in Pennsylvania he enjoyed living in an old stone farmhouse surrounded by open fields and a Victorian carriage house near a beautiful weeping beech tree. He had fun raising six rambunctious children and a difficult to train golden retriever, jumping in leaf piles, playing tennis and finding moments of peace in his rose garden. Later, when living in the city he could be found jogging the streets of Philadelphia, driving sporty Fiats and going to the pickle bar at Levis' Hot Dogs.

Mort had a warm and welcoming smile, caring heart, playful sense of humor, quick wit and enduring optimism. His brilliant legacy, zest for life and unforgettable kindness will live on in the hearts of all who knew him. It was a blessing to have his unconditional love for so long. We will miss him dearly.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 28th in the Philadelphia area. Donations may be made to scholarship funds supporting aspiring chemists at the College of Science and Technology at Temple University.