E. "Eddie" Way

1916 - 2017

E. "Eddie" Leong Way

July 10, 1916 - June 12, 2017

E. "Eddie" Leong Way 100, passed away peacefully on June 12, 2017 in his home in San Francisco, CA. Dr. Way was born on July 10, 1916 in Watsonville, CA to Leong Man Way and Leong Shew Shee, and was the first son among eight siblings. He was preceded in death by his wife, Madeline, and daughter, Linette. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Eric and Yuko Leong, as well as grandsons Andrew and Brian.

After moving to San Francisco with his family in 1927, he became an active member of Boy Scout Troop 3 in Chinatown. He completed his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in 1938, and then became the first graduate student to enroll in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, receiving his Ph.D. in 1942. Following a year working for Merck in Rahway, NJ, Dr. Way accepted a teaching position in pharmacology at George Washington University. It was during his time on the East Coast that Eddie met and married his wife, Madeline. He returned to UCSF in 1949, where he would serve as a professor of pharmacology until his retirement in 1987. Over the course of his career, he published over four hundred articles, most focusing on the mechanisms of opiate tolerance and addiction. He was a cherished mentor for many graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who went on to illustrious careers of their own. He served as president of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and was a member of numerous federal advisory and review committees on drug research and policy.

In addition to his service at UCSF, Eddie held visiting positions in Switzerland and Hong Kong, and was called upon to help establish a new pharmacology program at Gunma University Medical School in Japan. Later in his career, Eddie developed an interest in the history of Chinese medicine, and after his retirement, continued to study and write about early Chinese pharmacology.

Dr. Way was an avid golfer and ballroom dancer. He once wrote that, "nothing is more exhilarating than gliding and stomping in unison on the floor with an accomplished partner to the tunes and rhythm of the big bands." Forever a fan of the "sweet lyrics and arrangements of the thirties and forties" when compared to the "ear-splitting and perpetual monotonous disco gyrations that so enamor younger generations," Eddie danced well into his nineties.

Donations may be made in Dr. Way's memory to the UCSF Foundation. Funeral arrangements are private. There will be a memorial banquet on Sunday, July 16. For further information, please contact andrew.leong@northwestern.edu.