Written by: Maria M. Levy

Morris Levy, Morry, self-described as a Chicago kid, whom, after dropping out from college, went on to get his PhD from Yale University. “Not too bad”, he would say.

Morry’s life was shaped by a series of serendipitous events, the professor teaching a night class taken during his working time at the Chicago produce market, encouraged him to be brave and to make a real decision about the future, thus his return to complete his undergraduate degree in Biology. A field trip to the Indiana dunes marked his love for the study of evolution and of plants.

Years after working at Purdue in the department of Biological Sciences on the evolution of flower color patterns and morphology, and the evolution of pollinator vision, a random meeting to welcome a new faculty member working on a fungus with a “peculiar” pathogenic behavior, would start his second professional career in agriculture.

Serendipity again placed him in the same meeting with Dr. Lowell S. Hardin (RIP), one of the founding fathers of CIAT. Shortly after this meeting, in June of 1990, Morry would visit Colombia for the first time. The sugarcane fields, the passion for life exuded by his many hosts, the exciting nature of working on rice blast disease, the many adventures had in places like Villavicencio, Colombia, but, most importantly, the interactions and partnerships with his new colleagues full of passion and eager to share their knowledge, would mark the beginning of this new stage in his professional and personal life. 

Morry’s association with Colombia started in the 90’s, expanded to CPI’s, and continued after his retirement until 2022. This participation included working actively in or fostering research partnership between peers, not only at CIAT but also in other institutions, and also acting as editor in numerous scientific papers and proposals. His fingerprints can be found in the thesis work of many students, but also in countless cafecitos shared in informal but fruitful conversations about research, evolution, agriculture, and about life. Morry was approachable and very attuned to the vital role of every person in the scientific community, principally the support staff, to the success of the research enterprise. His softball skills made for hours of fun, friendly rivalries and a few player injuries. These and many more qualities made him memorable and respected. Among these qualities, shyness was not included, however; his candor gave him one of the proudest moments in life, meeting President Uribe at Palacio de Nariño in Bogotá, and allowing himself to ask questions on behalf of his Colombian colleagues. This was Morry.

He considered himself an adopted son of Colombia, and the final adoption papers were signed when he met María Mercedes Maya-Córdoba, his wife and partner in life, in research, and in the enterprise of contributing to the empowerment of underrepresented young and talented students – domestic, Colombian and international- to pursue advanced degrees in academia. Colombia gave Morry this new stage in life and the happiness associated with it, in return he gave her his heart.

Morry lives in the lives of the people whom he helped to find their strengths and their life path. He is remembered as El Padrino, as a mentor who would give you love, even tough love when you needed it, so you could become your best, as a colleague who would work collaboratively and with dedication, and, as a compassionate person who would always be willing to “…fight the unbeatable foe. To reach the unreachable star.” (1) His sense of humor was contagious, albeit sometimes off color, his loyalty unquestioned, and his commitment to empowering people to become their best selves, unwavering. 

He was instrumental in bringing students to Purdue and to other American universities to pursue their advanced degrees. He fostered numerous collaboration agreements between institutions to encourage joint research, always with the understanding that education was the path to a better life, and he always lived by the principle of “paying it forward”, thus creating a matrix of support for the next generation of scientists, academics, professionals and global human beings. This lifetime commitment was rewarded when he was recognized with Purdue’s MLK Dreamer award in 2020. Not bad for a Chicago kid.  

We will miss you Morry, but since “celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die.”(2), you will always live in the hearts of the people whose lives you touched.

If you want to learn more about Morry, please click here, here, and here.  You can also read his obituary here.

(1) The Impossible Dream, song by Andy Williams, Lyrics by Mitch Leigh & Joseph Darion

(2) Celluloid Heroes, song by The Kinks, Lyrics by Ray Davies