Moses A. Dass' Obituary
Dr. Moses Augustine Dass
November 22, 1934 – December 28, 2022
Dr. Moses Augustine Dass was born in Pune, India on November 22, 1934, to Anthony and Francena Dass. As the sixth of twelve children, Moses was raised in a close-knit family who valued education, religion and service.
In his early years, Moses attended elementary school in Salisbury Park and later graduated from Spicer Adventist University. As recalled by his sister, “As a child, Moses suffered from seizures and mother prayed, if God would heal him, she would send him to medical school.” In 1962, Moses graduated from Christian Medical College in Vellore, India (Batch of 1957).
On May 30, 1965, Moses married his high school sweetheart “Darling” Joan (Israel) in Pune, India. Together, they worked as Medical Directors of the Seventh Day Adventist Mission Hospital in Surat. Two years later, Moses and Joan welcomed Marcus on February 12, 1967. That same year, Moses immigrated to the USA to further his education and medical training. Joan and young Marcus arrived a few months later and joined Moses in Cleveland, Ohio where he was undergoing his residency in Surgery. On June 2, 1972, to their delight, Steven was born and completed their family.
From 1975 – 1994, Moses’ career as a surgeon relocated the family to Warren, Ohio, then Courtland, New York and finally, Waverly, Ohio where he served as Chief of Staff and Medical Director for the Pike County Hospital, as well as County Coroner. He also taught an Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support class. Drs. Moses and Joan opened their private practice, Moses, in General Surgery and Joan, in Family Practice. Their dedication to their profession was well known in the community and to their many patients. After they closed their 20 plus year practice, Moses worked in Columbus, Ohio in Emergency Medicine until his retirement in 2004.
That same year, Moses and Joan relocated to Florida to be closer to family. They were excited to move into their dream home and enjoy a relaxing life when their happiness was cut short by Joan’s untimely passing in 2007. It was then Moses decided to volunteer and traveled to India to work and teach at the Surat Hospital (where Marcus was born) and the Gifford Memorial Hospital in Nuzvid.
After his time in India, Moses traveled to Malaysia where he worked from 2013 until last year as a Professor in the Dept. of Surgery at various universities. Clearly, he had no intention of slowing down from what he enjoyed most…teaching and mentoring medical students. It gave him great joy watching them become future nurses and physicians.
One of the most memorable characteristics of Moses (and Joan) was their generosity. Growing up in a large family, Moses helped many of his family members immigrate to the United States. He also took great care of his parents.
As an active member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Moses often taught the weekly Sabbath School lesson. Among his many interests, he enjoyed traveling, walking, singing and photography (he took a lot of photos but never developed the countless rolls of film). He also loved playing Make-A-Million, Rook and UNO (even though he would cheat to win with his granddaughter, Sajel).
Now, as Moses is laid to rest beside his beloved wife of nearly 42 years, he is survived by his sons, Marcus (Jessica), Steven, and his precious granddaughter, Sajel. He will be greatly missed by his remaining siblings, a host of nieces and nephews, relatives, friends and colleagues. To those that knew him best…Moses lived life to the fullest; he was well loved and will be well remembered.
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