Joe Morton Memorial

Abstract

A celebration of life for Professor Joe Morton was held Saturday June 18 at 1pm in the Athenaeum at Goucher College. Speakers were Jason Morton, Rebecca Morton, Nancy Magnuson, Katie Lautar, Sister Ardeth Platte, and Bart Houseman. Meredith Morton played the cello. The gathering music was performed by José Antonio Bowen. The slide show was created by Scott Davis, a 2010 Goucher alum.

Dr. Morton was the founder of Goucher’s Peace Studies Program and professor emeritus of philosophy and peace studies. Dr. Morton learned the necessity of reconciliation at an early age. Born in Hungary, he came to the United States as a child with his parents and sister to escape the Holocaust. Dr. Morton received his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and his doctorate in philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University. He came to Goucher in 1963, chaired the Philosophy Department from 1978 to 1988, and founded the Peace Studies Program in 1991, one of the few programs in the country of its kind at that time. He served Goucher faithfully until his retirement in 2000 and remained an active member of the community until his passing.