George Malcolm Morley M.D.

Dr. George Malcolm Morley, OBGYN, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away peacefully at the age of 89 on October 13, 2022. Lonette (Lonnie) Marie (Steffy) Morley, his beloved wife of 58 years, passed away in January of 2022. He is survived by his 4 children Kirsten Ryan (Michael) of Avon, CT; Dr. Robert Morley, of Marquette, MI; Alison Young (Todd), of Northport, MI; and Gretchen Morley Ross of Fife Lake, MI; And his three grandchildren; James Ryan, Jack Ryan, and Evie Ross. He is also survived by his brothers Dr. John Wilson Morley, 94, of Richmond, VA; and Dr. Thomas Selwyn Morley, 85, of the Isle of Mann, UK; and cousin, Anita Dunne, of Ortonville, MI. Malcolm was born in Durham County, England, in 1933, to John Joseph Morley and Minnie (Hodgeson) Morley. He led an adventurous childhood during the wartime in Northern England, where he began a life-long hobby of beekeeping. Attending medical school at the University of Edinburgh, Malcolm graduated top of his class in 1952. His classmate, Jerry Slavin, said, "Malcom was the guy every one of us tried to beat, but we could never match his mind." Though he was asked to be a part of Her Majesty's Royal Medical Team, Malcolm decided to come to America, as a college mate had taken a position at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, and suggested Malcolm apply. Malcolm performed his residency at Oakwood and later joined Dr. Thomas Carbonell’s practice. After Tom’s retirement in the mid 1970's, Malcolm joined forces with Dr. Jure Grahovac and the two built one of the largest OBGYN practices in Wayne County. He served as Chief of Staff at Oakwood for many years, In the late 80's, the AMA mandated the practice of immediately clamping fetal umbilical cords post-delivery – a directive that would forever change Malcolm's life. He railed against this practice, arguing immediate cord clamping (ICC) was injurious to newborns. Over the next 20+ years he became a recognized authority on the matter world-wide with his research, findings, and arguments against ICC published in a multitude of articles, medical journals, and magazines. In 2008, Malcolm was honored by the Michigan State Medical Society for 50 years of service to the medical community. Malcolm had many interests and talents outside medicine. A lover of literature, he authored and published The Giant of Red Mill Run (a fictional story about Henry Ford's life) and was a leader in the Great Books Program (teaching critical thinking to children). An avid apiculturist since childhood, Malcolm remained passionate about bee keeping to the very end and talked often of his friend Julius Kolarik, who helped Malcolm with his hives, even when he was no longer able to tend to them himself. Malcolm also loved to dance, and it was this that precipitated his introduction to the love of his life, Lonnie. A year after their first encounter at a “sock-hop”, Malcolm and Lonnie were married at the Martha Mary Chapel in Greenfield Village (1963). They bought their first home in the Ford Foundation in the late 1960's. When their fourth child came along, they decided to move the family to Birmingham, where they lived for 23 years. In 1997, Malcolm and Lonnie relocated to a farm in Northport, MI. It reminded him of his home in England. He and Lonnie embraced the community, joining the Northport Supper Club, attending the Northport Covenant Church, participating in the Pancake Fly-ins at the Northport Airport, and performing in the Northport Community Arts Center's production of the "Sound of Music." Malcolm was also known to drive his favorite dog, Jessie, every morning down to the coffee shop to join the men in conversation regarding the town's “goings on”. In 2014, Malcom had a cardiac arrest event. Northport EMS responded, giving him 5 shocks to restart his heart. He was transported to Munson Hospital, where Lonnie pleaded with doctors to "do everything possible. I was supposed to go first!!" The team at Munson engaged in a new procedure that placed Malcolm in a coma for a week to save him from brain damage. The procedure worked and through vigorous physical therapy and a steadfast resolve to get home and take care of Lonnie, Malcolm made a full recovery. Over the last years of their lives, Malcolm did help Lonnie. She used to tell friends he came back better than he was before. He and Lonnie were so grateful to have been given such a priceless gift by these men and women that, each year on May 22, they spent the day delivering gifts representative of their unwavering gratitude to each of the first responders who had been so instrumental in saving Malcolm’s life. In the end, Malcolm let Lonnie 'go first' and through the course of the past few months, she has waited patiently for him so that they might dance together again in Heaven. A time to gather begins at 2:00pm at the Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home on October 29, 2022. Malcolm will be escorted in procession to his final resting place Leelanau Township Cemetery departing from the funeral home beginning at 3:00pm.

George Malcolm Morley M.D.

August 12, 1933 - October 13, 2022