Herbert Carpenter Morse

Morse

Herbert Carpenter Morse "Sandy"

Dr. Herbert "Sandy" Carpenter Morse III died at age eighty on September 11, 2023. Beloved son of Betty and Bert Morse, Sandy was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in La Grange, Illinois. He attended Oberlin College and then graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Medical School. After medical school, he trained in internal medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He later specialized in rheumatology and worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH for over forty-five years. Early in his career, he was commissioned as an officer in the Public Health Service and retired from the service with the rank of Captain. Sandy served as Laboratory Chief of the NIH Laboratory of Immunopathology for decades. His research spanned many areas of science including retrovirology, immunogenetics, B lymphocyte development and function, mechanisms of malignant transformation of B lineage cells, autoimmunity, and animal models of disease, including AIDS. He made many seminal contributions in these areas and published nearly 400 papers. He collaborated extensively with intramural and extramural scientists and investigators at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, and trained and mentored hundreds of young scientists.



Intensely curious, Sandy had a wide range of interests and passions. In high school and college, he played baseball, basketball, and soccer. A lifelong Cubs fan, he adopted the Washington football team as his home team after moving to Maryland in 1972. Sandy loved fishing, and particularly looked forward to an annual fishing trip with his brothers. His love of music started early, Christmas caroling with his mother and brothers and continuing into recent years, when he joined the Ingleside Chamber Singers and Swinglesiders. He was a passionate reader, devouring several books at a time on diverse subjects including politics, fiction, and science. Those who knew Sandy well knew the child at heart who loved singing, card games, root beer floats, and silly jokes. He was famous at Ingleside for his goofy T-shirts, of which he amassed an extensive collection. Though he traveled extensively for work and for pleasure, his favorite place in the world was Mount Desert Island in Maine, where he spent many happy summers with his family.



Beyond his many passions, what was most important to Sandy was his family. He will be sorely missed by his four children and their spouses, John (Meg), Heather (Alex), Katie (Mike), and Pippa (Mike); as well as Katie and Pippa's mother Wendy. He adored and loved spending time with his five grandchildren, Toby, Farrah, Gracie, Mariah, and Colin. Throughout his life, he made sure to maintain close relationships with his three brothers and their wives, John (Jane), Kenny (Lonni), and Phil (Diane). Sandy made friends wherever he went and was especially beloved in his final years at Ingleside King Farm.



Private celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to:

Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center

McLean Hospital Development Office

115 Mill Street, MS 126

Belmont, MA 02478

Kindly note on your check that the gift is intended for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center.

Or to:

Oberlin College Office of Advancement

PO Box 72110

Cleveland, OH 44192-0002