William R. Moses

Friday, December 16, 2005

William Russell Moses, 89, one of the youngest chiefs of surgery to serve at what became D.C. General Hospital, died after a heart attack Dec. 2 at Grand Oaks assisted living center in Washington, where he lived.

Dr. Moses became chief of surgery at Gallinger Municipal Hospital in 1941 at the age of 25. He later performed surgeries at numerous area hospitals as part of a private practice until his retirement in 1982. Gallinger became D.C. General (now closed) in 1953.

Before going to Gallinger, Dr. Moses served his internship and residency at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, where one of his patients was Al Capone. The notorious Chicago gangster was serving an 11-year prison sentence at  Alcatraz for tax evasion. He had been transported under heavy guard to   Baltimore for medical treatment after showing signs of dementia caused by Syphilis. Dr. Moses was much in demand by colleagues and friends for information about his famous patient. However, he could supply few details, because Capone spent much of his time in the hospital sedated or unconscious.

William R. Moses was 25 when he became chief of surgery at what     became D.C. General Hospital. (Family Photo -               Family Photo)

Dr. Moses, who was born in Spartanburg, S.C., was raised in Washington and graduated from Wilson High School. Although he had aspirations to become a   civil engineer, his father persuaded him to go into medicine. He graduated from the University of Tennessee and received a medical degree from George   Washington University in 1938.

While attending college, he came to sympathize with the government of Spain as it dealt with a right-wing military uprising led by Gen. Francisco Franco. During the summer before his final year of medical school, he enlisted in the Lincoln Brigade, a volunteer organization of Americans fighting on the government side in the Spanish Civil War. He kept his involvement in the   Spanish conflict secret, because fighting in the army of a foreign power without the permission of the United States was illegal and a possible cause for being denied employment. After a few weeks of military training in Spain, he was thrown into fighting around the city of Madrid. He was critically  wounded during a surprise strafing by German pilots fighting for Franco. Retreating comrades, thinking he was dying, left him on the battlefield. Some hours later, he was taken prisoner by German soldiers who treated his collapsed lung.

After several weeks of mending, he was taken to the French border, where   his captors released him with the warning not to come back again. The   harrowing experience turned him into a lifelong peace advocate.

In 1941, Dr. Moses accepted the position as chief of surgery at Gallinger.   In 1947, he joined two other doctors in a private practice in Washington, and   in 1965, he became a founding member of the Falls Church Medical Center.

After retiring, Dr. Moses often commented on national and world affairs   through letters to newspaper editors, some of which were published in The   Washington Post. A devoted animal lover, he donated substantial amounts to the   Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of   Animals. He owned a succession of three dogs -- all of whom he named   "Buddy."

Retaining his medical privileges at Sibley during much of his retirement,   Dr. Moses served on the hospital's peer review committee, which reviews the   work of other doctors.

Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Dorothy Warren Moses of Washington;   a son, William Moses of Alexandria; two daughters, Patricia Durkin of   Washington and Jean Holston of Angel's Camp, Calif.; four grandchildren; and   three great-grandchildren.