Dr. Maurice Guss

Dr. Maurice Louis Guss (better known as Maish), born on June 21, 1922, passed away at home on September 10, 2015.

Originally from Revere, Massachusetts., Maish graduated from Boston Latin School in 1939, Boston College in 1947, and received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1952. Maish served his country in the U.S. Army Medical Department during World War II, in the United States, France, the Philippines, and in Japan after the war ended.

He married the love of his life, Florence Estell Hasanovitz (1927 – 2011), in 1946. They moved to Frederick, MD in 1952 when Maish took a position at Fort Detrick as a microbiologist. He continued in that capacity through 1972.  Maish also worked with NIH, the National Cancer Institute, and Litton Industries, until his retirement. Maish has had many scientific research papers published and is the author of “Is Pasteurella Tularensis Lipopolysaccharide an Endotoxin?” which is still in print.
 Post-retirement, Maish stayed active in the field, including participation at Annual Oncogene Meetings, as well as ongoing work with a number of Institutional Review Boards.

Both Maish and Florence were active in the Beth Sholom congregation, and in a myriad of volunteer community programs: the YMCA, the Fredericktowne Players, Art In The Park, and a film series at Hood College, to name a few.

Maish is survived by son Samuel Gerald Guss, his former wife Donna Demoss, and their son, Michael David Guss; son Michael Lawrence Guss, his former wife Nancy Harrison Guss, their children Joshua Simon Guss, Jennifer Lillian Guss and husband Mark Watts, and Maish's first great-grandson, Jason Ferguson Watts; son Tuvy, his wife Tracey , and their son Jacob. We would also like to extend the family to include Elayne Reiner, good friend to Maish; and Cathy Smith, who was an absolute blessing to Maish's care in the last years of his life.

The family would also like to thank the wonderful staff at Northampton Manor and Hospice of Frederick County.

Maish will be laid to rest beside his mother and father, and next to his forever love, Florence, in Resthaven Memorial Gardens on Sunday, September 13, 2015, at 2:00 pm.

Our dad was a giving, entertaining, and productive human being. He will be missed by us and all those who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making contributions in memory of Maish Guss to the Jean Ellis and Florence Guss Memorial Fund  (Community Foundation of Frederick County),the Frederick County YMCA, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or The Children's Inn at NIH.