D. James Morré

D. James Morré

Died: June 16, 2016.

Born: October 20, 1935 to the late Harvey H. Morre and Donna (Mauer) Morré in Drake, Missouri, small town, eight days off the Oregon Trail.

Marriage: On August 25, 1956 he married Dorothy M. Wibberg in Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Columbia, Missouri; she survives.

Education: D. James graduated from Owensville High School in Owensville, MO.  He completed his undergraduate work at University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.  He obtained his Master Degree at Purdue University and his PhD in Biochemistry at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He received national and international honors during his professional career beginning in 1962 as a visiting Assistant Professor at the Cell Research Institute at the University of Texas in Austin, where he worked with Dr. Hilton H.  Mollenhauer.  Later that year he and Dorothy moved with their children to West Lafayette, Indiana to join the faculty of the Botany and Plant Pathology Department at Purdue University, the beginning of a long career with Purdue. In 1969 he went on sabbatical in France at the Université de Paris.  In 1976 he was Guest Senior Scientist at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany.  From 1976 to 1986 he was the first Director of the Purdue Cancer Center.  From 1985 to 1988 he was Chargé de Cours, University of Geneva, Switzerland.  From 1986 to 2009 he was selected as Dow Distinguished Professor at Purdue University. Since 2011 he has been the CEO and Director of Research at MOR-NuCo, Inc., located in the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette.

D. James was a member of the St. Boniface Church where he was a member of the St. Boniface Schola under the direction of Linda Schaffer.  He is survived by 3 children: Connie Morré Chalko (Roy) of South Bend, Indiana; Jeffrey Morré (Susan) of Corvallis, Oregon; and Suzanne Morré Miner (John) of Lake Zurich, Illinois. They have 9 grandchildren, Mariah Rutter (Levi), Aren Rutter (Tessa), Christopher Chalko (Christine), Matthew Miner (Jennifer), Timothy Miner (Amy), Eric Chalko (Heather), Nicholas Miner (Kelsey) Katherine Chalko, Suzanna Morré and  7 great-grandchildren. He was very proud of all his children’s and grandchildren’s accomplishments and rarely missed a graduation or other major event in their lives.

Hobbies:  D. James enjoyed many hobbies, including blacksmithing, gardening, and music. He was the Master Blacksmith at the Feast of the Hunters Moon at Fort Qiuatenon for over 40 years. He established a permanent blacksmithing shop and school through the Tippecanoe County Historical Society and wrote a series of books on blacksmithing. He built the Blacksmith Museum at Prophet’s Town historic pioneer farm. He sang with the Bach Choral for 50 years, and also enjoyed playing piano and trumpet. D. James passed his love of blacksmithing, gardening, and music on to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Harvey H. and Donna M. Morré Foundation for Basic Cancer Research, 1201-B Cumberland Avenue, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906.

Services: Visitation at the Hahn-Groeber Funeral Home, 1104 Columbia St. Lafayette from 4 until 7 PM Tuesday June 21, with a Rosary service at 3:45 PM Tuesday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Boniface Catholic Church, 318 N. 9th St., Lafayette at 10:00 AM Wednesday June 22, Fr. Tim Alkire officiating.