MEMBERS
DR. Who
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
MORRIS WEISS, MD
Aaron Burch
A
few hundred books are situated behind Dr. Morris Weiss
as he moves to sit in what looks to be a very comfortable
chair. Among them are numerous tomes on medicine
and archaeology, as well as several printings of The
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by
Edward Gibbon, his favorite non-fiction work.
Yet, this book-lined room is not his library; that occupies anoth-
er, larger room in his cozy Highlands neighborhood house. This is
just an alcove and reading area as you walk through the front door.
Dr. Weiss then sits, often with his eyes closed as he recounts stories
from his past, and the gas fire whispers to his left. Looking over the
alcove is a painting of a beloved figure in his life, his great uncle,
Dr. Leon Solomon. One of the founders of Jewish Hospital, Dr.
Solomon is affectionately referred to by Dr. Weiss as “Uncle Doc.”
Uncle Doc studied medicine in Europe just before the turn of
the 20 th century. “He returned to Louisville in 1897 after visiting the
great medical centers of Europe,” Dr. Weiss explained. “He became
a very prominent physician in Kentucky and the American Medical
Association at the turn of the century.”
Medicine and history are perhaps Dr. Weiss’ two defining in-
terests, which allows his great-uncle to sit at the fulcrum of respect
and admiration. But Uncle Doc has hardly been the sole northern
star in the life of Dr. Weiss. He is Morris Weiss Jr. after all.
“My father, Morris Weiss Sr., was the leading cardiologist in
Louisville, hands down. He was a charter member of the American
College of Internal Medicine and Cardiology in the mid-1930s, and
he wrote some of the seminal papers on ischemic heart disease. His
family was made up of secular Jews. My mother, Evelyn, was from
Mobile, Ala., and from them I inherited a lifestyle of being honest
and interested in social affairs,” Dr. Weiss explained.
Dr. Weiss (“Moose” to his friends) is the oldest of three siblings.
His sister, Emily, passed away a few years ago. His brother, Allan, is
a retired attorney and seven years his junior. The trio grew up on
Village Drive not far from St. Francis of Assisi Church.
“I was a pretty good athlete growing up,” Dr. Weiss recalled. “I
was a member of Castlewood Athletic Club. I played basketball,
softball and football, and was pretty good at basketball because I
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
was really tall for my age.”
Every summer between 1944 and 1957, when Dr. Weiss was
set to begin his senior year of medical school, was spent at Camp
Indianola in Wisconsin. Set on Lake Mendota near the University
of Wisconsin, the camp was a haven for young boys to enjoy the
outdoors and escape from the humdrum of their hometowns. Dr.
Weiss started out as a camper and worked his way up to counselor
and head of the athletic field during his 14 summers there.
“I loved that life,” he recalled. “I was good at it, and I loved tak-
ing care of the kids.” Years later, his own sons would go to summer
camp so they could share in the experiences that he loved as a boy.
Having graduated from the UofL School of Medicine in 1958,
Dr. Weiss visited Philadelphia, Pa., to further his studies in internal
medicine and cardiology. He then made plans to head out west
to treat Navajo Indians but, as it so often does, life got in the way.
“I was married and had one son, and another on the way when
my mother called me. My father wasn’t doing well, and she asked
if I’d come home. That was June 28, 1962.” Dr. Weiss honored his
mother’s request, returned home and began practicing cardiology
in Louisville. He didn’t know then that he’d have only seven more
months with his dad.
“He fell dead talking to a patient that February. He died too
young,” Dr. Weiss sighed.
Still, his career and his family had returned to Louisville, and
Dr. Weiss began to build a practice. With a third son was on the
way: Daniel is the oldest, then John, then Michael.
As a successful Jewish physician in the 1960s, Dr. Weiss con-
tinued the work of his father and forefathers in medicine while,
unfortunately, having to fight against anti-Semitism simply by
living his life. He explained that while Louisville was a great place
for a young Jewish man to grow up, there were always boundaries
to overcome.
“For example, when I came back to Louisville in 1962, I was
asked to be on the board of the Kentucky Heart Association. My
father helped found it, but they had moved the board to the Pen-
dennis Club. I wasn’t allowed to go there as Morris Weiss in 1962. I