Dr. George Moore, who discovered radioactive isotopes to diagnose cancer, sometimes did five surgeries a day, and was a prize-winning photographer, metal sculptor and licensed pilot, died in Conifer on May 19. He was 88.
When Moore came to Denver in 1973, he was already a well- known researcher, having headed — and greatly expanded — Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.
Moore’s work to expand cancer programs and the physical plant at Roswell Park helped make it “a world-renowned cancer center and a leader in cancer research and patient care,” said Donald E. Trump, president and chief executive of Roswell Park.
In a prepared statement, Trump praised Moore for the development of a tissue culture medium “that has had an enormous impact” on research worldwide; his creation of numerous new teaching programs; and heading fundraising efforts for new facilities, including a $7.2 million hospital.
Moore wrote to Trump recently, expressing hope that Roswell Park was “progressing well and creatively. There are so many exciting problems.”
When Moore arrived at Roswell Park, there were just two aging buildings, said his daughter Laurie Moore of Davis, Calif. When he left, the institute covered seven city blocks and had another property where Moore did tobacco research, she said.
Moore testified before U.S. Senate committees on the dangers of tobacco, said his son Don Moore of Conifer.
In Denver, George Moore was professor of surgery and microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and chief of the oncology section at Denver Health (then Denver General Hospital).
“He was a pretty amazing guy,” said his daughter Linda Wagner of Jefferson County.
“My father worked tirelessly for the public good,” forgoing “many financially lucrative opportunities to work in the private sector,” said Don Moore.
George Moore was an award-wining amateur photographer, and some of his photos will hang in the newly renovated cafeteria at Denver Health, said Wagner, an architect who is designing the project.
He also was a good manager, Don Moore said. He knew everything from “how to hustle money for Roswell to how much a bed sheet cost,” he said.
George Moore’s interests were broad.
Mixing science with the artistic, he created a 7-foot-tall metal sculpture of the cross-section of a cell. It stands in his front yard.
He studied the geology of Colorado and was a past president of the Colorado Mineral Society, Laurie Moore said.
He wrote two books and more than 700 articles for medical journals and won awards from CU, the State University of New York and the American Public Health Association.
George E. Moore was born in Minneapolis on Feb. 22, 1920.
He married Lorraine P. Hammell on Feb. 22, 1945. They had met while hitchhiking to an airport to take flying lessons outside Minneapolis.
He had two bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees, all in biological sciences; a doctorate in surgery; and a medical degree, said Don Moore.
In addition to his wife, son and daughters, he is survived by another son, Allan B. Moore of Acton, Mass., and another daughter, Cathy Moore of Tucson; and eight grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
