Milwaukee native Morris M. Meister, M.D., died of cancer on May 24. He was 85.
A 1941 graduate of Lincoln High School, Meister earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing his undergraduate work, Meister enlisted in the U.S. Army, which wanted him to become an engineer.
One semester before completing his engineering courses in New York, the Army decided that it had too many engineers and sent him home. In 1951, Meister was sent to Korea with the Air Force, where he served as the only dermatologist in the Far East, said his wife, Janet Meister of Fox Point.
“[The military] told him that he would be on the front lines if he did not accept the position of chief of dermatology” in the Air Force, she said. Meister was stationed in Tokyo, but he traveled throughout the region treating wounded soldiers in Guam, Manila and Okinawa, among other locales.
After marrying the former Janet Rosenberg in 1954, the two moved to Cincinnati, where Meister was finishing his residence. It was there that Meister worked with Albert Sabin, M.D., inventor of the oral polio vaccine, diagnosing and treating monkeys in Sabin’s laboratory.
After finishing his residency, Meister moved back to Milwaukee and set up a clinic downtown. He eventually expanded to Thiensville, then centralized the practice in Bayside in the 1970s. The clinic moved to Mequon in 2000.
Meister also was the owner of a 7UP Bottling Company franchise, which was responsible for the distribution of soda brands such as 7UP, Dr. Pepper and Orange Crush throughout Milwaukee County.
An active volunteer, Meister served as the chairman of the work adjustment committee of the Jewish Vocational Service (currently the Milwaukee Center for Independence) and as chairman of the physician’s division of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
He also served as the president of the Noah Worcester Dermatological Society and the Wisconsin Dermatological Society.
In his spare time, Meister enjoyed sports, music and traveling.
“He was a busy man,” said Janet Meister. “He had a large practice which he loved, and he loved being busy.”
In addition to his wife, Meister is further survived by daughters Ellen (P.S.) Khalsa of Santa Fe, N.M., Debbie Meister (Gene Christenson) of St. Paul, Minn., and Wendy Meister (John McGuire) of Riverwood, Ill.; sons David (Barbara) Meister of Milwaukee and Jacob Meister of Chicago; brother Howard (Gae) Meister of Los Angeles; and six grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were handled by Blane Goodman Funeral Service, LLC. Services were officiated by Rabbi Ronald Shapiro at Congregation Shalom in Fox Point on May 26. Burial was at Spring Hill Cemetery.
Memorial contributions to Congregation Shalom are appreciated by the family.
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