Marshall Emanuel Deutsch

Dr. Marshall Emanuel Deutsch, 96, died on December 23. He was born in New York City, and recently moved to Corrales, NM, after 51 years in Sudbury, MA, and earlier times in New Jersey, Detroit, Michigan, and New York.

A graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School and the City College of New York, he served in the Army Air Forces in World War II (for which he was awarded an Air Medal) and received his Ph.D. in physiological studies from New York University in 1951.

Marshall had a varied career, but considered himself primarily an inventor of medical diagnostic tests, and held 60 patents, including two patents that introduced a simplified automatic system of assay, later applied to home pregnancy tests and referred to in hundreds of subsequent patents by others. 

An extremely witty person to the end, Marshall was a solver of difficult puzzles including The Nation’s puns and anagrams puzzles and The New York Times diagramless ones, a folk dancer for more than 70 years, a linguist, a lover of Mozart operas, and, for more than 12 years, a columnist for and editor of the Boston Mycological Society’s Bulletin. He was a traveler to 25 countries (in part to work for the US Agency for International Development and the UN Capital Development Fund), the author of many scientific and non-scientific articles and letters, and especially proud of his letters in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

Marshall produced and presented more than 200 radio shows on nutrition and science that were broadcast over WBAI and KPFA, and wrote articles on nutrition for The Realist. In 1955, he founded the Morristown, NJ Unitarian fellowship, which still flourishes.

An American Association for the Advancement of Science Life Member, he also was a member of the International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics, which researched the impact of cholesterol and debunked the myth that it was bad—a myth finally losing credence.

Marshall valued exercise and worked out on a stationary bicycle for an hour each day up to December 6th, the day before he suffered two strokes. 

He is survived by his beloved wife of 70 years Reverend Judith Deutsch and their three adult children--Pamina Margret Deutsch of Corrales, NM; Dr. Ethan Amadeus Deutsch of Seattle, WA; and Dr. Freeman Sarastro Deutsch of Cambridge, MA--granddaughter Melina Baron Deutsch and son-in-law Dr. Michael Baron of Corrales, NM; and daughter-in-law Jessie Saacke of Cambridge, MA. Many other cherished relatives predeceased him, including his grandson Jan Angel Santa Ana Deutsch.

He is beloved by his family and many others, and will be greatly missed.

A memorial service for Marshall will be held on April 21, 2018 at 1 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation in Rio Rancho, NM. Another service will be held on Saturday, April 28 at 3 PM at the First Parish Church in Sudbury, MA. Marshall was a member of both congregations.

Please visit www.danielsfuneral.com for our online guestbook and other information.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Marshall’s name to the Southern Poverty Law Center; the First Parish Church in Sudbury, MA; or the Unitarian Universalist Westside Congregation in Rio Rancho, NM.