Morgante, Odosca, MD, MSc, PhD.
Passed away peacefully at the Royal Jubilee Hospital on June 7, 2003 at the age of 85. Born in Benghazi, Libya on December 28, 1917, Doctor Morgante became a well-respected physician and medical researcher. She became the first woman to graduate in 1942 from the Medical Faculty at the University of Rome. Following her lifelong passion of helping those in need, she practised obstetrics in Venezuela, before returning to academia in Montreal.
At McGill University, she completed a PhD in Microbiology in 1959 and was then asked to join the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta.
In 1962, she joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alberta where she both taught and conducted noteworthy research in the area of medical microbiology. Dr. Morgante retired as a full professor in 1983 and
was bestowed the designation of Professor Emeritus by the University.
Given her passion for helping those in political and social strife, Dr. Morgante was instrumental in the underground of Italy during World War II, where she used her professional designation to assist the Jewish people to escape the tyranny of war.
She carried on with her humanitarian activities after retirement from the University of Alberta by utilizing her fluency in 4 languages to assist refugees who had arrived in Canada. She became an active and tireless worker for the refugees through the auspices of the St. Andrew’s Refugee
Association in Victoria, British Columbia.
Dr. Morgante was an ardent devotee of Padre Pio, a Saint canonized by the Vatican. It was her interaction with Padre Pio while in Italy, which left a lifelong impression upon her and an unshakeable devotion to God. Dr. Morgante is survived by her family in Italy, Vera, Marina and Sandro. She will be deeply missed by all of her friends, professional colleagues, students and those that she helped selflessly throughout her life.
High Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Blanshard at View Street, Victoria, BC by Father Hill at 12:10 p.m. June 16, 2003.
Interment will follow at Royal Oak Burial Park. Flowers are graciously declined and in lieu thereof, donations can be made to the Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church at 4049 Gordon Head Road, Victoria, BC.
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