COLONEL DONALD P. MORSE, D.D.S.

FUNERAL HOME

Porter Loring Mortuary North

2102 N. Loop 1604 E.

San Antonio, Texas

DONALD P. MORSE, D.D.S. Obituary

Col. Donald Peyton Morse (Ret), age 87, passed away peacefully at his home on March 24, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas on December 25, 1934, Donald (Don) graduated from Ray High School and went to Del Mar College before attending the Univ. of Texas Dental School in Houston. Upon graduating Dental School in 1959, he joined the US Air Force as a dentist where he served 26 years, including Thailand, 2 tours in Germany as well as several domestic assignments. His last 13 years, he served as Base Dental Commander at various installations throughout the US and overseas, including Ramstein AFB, the largest overseas military dental clinic. He was awarded numerous medals and decorations throughout his career, including Chief Dental Badge and the Legion of Merit. After retiring from the Air Force in 1985, Don was hired as Dental Health Coordinator for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. He later became a Public Health Administrator overseeing not only Dental Health Services, but also oversight of Health Department Communicable Disease Programs, the Animal Care Services and Occupational Health and Wellness. Don was instrumental in integrating fluoride in City water, was Medical Logistics Officer for the outdoor Papal visit in 1987 and worked with many programs such as Headstart. Throughout his military and City public health careers, he drafted successful legislation, taught, sat on countless committees, authored several published works and received many honors. Don took great pride in serving his country and his community. An active member of the Beethoven Maennerchor since 1983, Don served on the Board 13 years holding various offices, including Secretary and VP. Also a fixture as announcer at Beethoven Public Garden Functions and Celebrations for 15 years, Don was voted Honorary Member in 2013. He enjoyed singing, volunteering, and socialization in support of German culture, language, song and Gemuetlichkeit. Time with family and friends was Don's greatest joy. His unique and sometimes surprising laugh made him easy to find in a crowd, where he would often tell stories with poetic skill and great humor. Especially loved by his friends and family in Germany, he could do the same in German. His love of travel and sense of adventure took him to all corners of the world. In retirement, Don and Iris continued to explore many travel destinations.

Riding motorcycles, one of his favorite past times, took him often to Canada, Mexico and everywhere in between. The camaraderie shared on these trips made memories for a lifetime. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Wilbur and Clara Morse. He is survived by his loving wife, Iris Morse, son Eric Morse (Lisa), daughter Lia Connors (Skip), granddaughters Isabella and Arianna Morse, and Zoe and Quinn Connors, step-daughters Jill Rittimann, Julie Ellis (Jeremy), Karen Kricka (Simon), step-grandchildren, Geoffrey Rittimann (Katie), Aidan and Arianna Ellis, Jaxson, Corbin, and Chloe Kricka; and beloved dog, Henri. Don considered all those listed above as the best in the world and a wonderful blessing to him, along with a long list of perfect other relatives and friends - many of whom have already entered heavenly rest, including the mother of his children, Suse Morse.

Memorial donations may be made to: DAV (Disabled American Veterans) or the SPCA.

MEMORIAL SERVICE

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2022

12:30 PM

PORTER LORING

NORTH CHAPEL

Graveside Service will take place immediately following at 2:15 PM at FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY.

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Published by Express-News on Apr. 24, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
for DONALD P. MORSE, D.D.S.

Sponsored by Porter Loring Mortuary North.

1 Entry

James Hagar, DMD

June 24, 2022

Col. Morse,
If you were at Plattsburgh AFB in 1973, you were my first Base Dental Commander when I was a newly minted dentist. You might wonder how I landed on this page. It's because over the decades since then, I can't tell you how often I have thought of you. Here's the main reason why: Early on you taught us three principles that we should latch onto as we began our professional careers. (1) First, do no harm (from the physicians' Hippocratic Oath; (2) Know what you know and know what you don't know; (3) Don't treat health.
Those three primary principles have guided me along the way - daily - as they do to this day. All the more so, given the sad state of our world now.
Just the other day, I was calling on those Big 3 once again, but this time I thought to look you up.
My regret, of course, is that I didn't get to know you better (and sooner) when I should have.
As an ROTC officer candidate at Duke, we were instilled with two other principles: Leadership and Professionalism. Clearly, you have best exemplified both in your lifetime.
GodSpeed, Sir