He was born in Denver, Colorado on May 19, 1922. After graduating from High School he enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and later enlisted in the army during World War II as a surgical technician. After the war he studied at the University of California at Berkeley receiving an AB in Criminalistic studies. Subsequently, he received a Master’s degree in Education at San Francisco State College. He taught science and mathematics in the San Francisco school system and taught Criminalistics at the City College of San Francisco. He was the first Criminologist of San Mateo County, California and was the chief of the county crime laboratory. Later on he worked as a police advisor for the Agency for International Development. Four years of this time was spent in Brazil, where he helped develop the National Institute of Criminalistics. Eight more years were spent at the International Police Academy in Washington, D.C. In 1975 he joined the Treasury Department and arrived at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), with the first group from Washington, D.C. He served as a group supervisor and as the Forensic Science Specialist for FLETC. When he retired, he served as a Counsultant/Trainer for the Department of Justice, developing training materials and conducting over a hundred training courses in Latin America and the Caribbean region. Morris Grodsky authored numerous articles related to forensic science and to terrorism. He also taught at the American University in Washington, D.C. and Armstrong State College in Savannah, GA. He was a Life Member of the California Association of Criminalists. Morris was an avid bridge player, achieving the ACBL rank of Silver Life Master, and was a member of the Golden Isles Duplicate Bridge Club. He authored a book entitled “The Home Boy’s Odyssey”, a collection of stories, episodes, essays and philosophical analyses that represented his journey throughout his wonderful and fascinating life. In addition to writing, he also enjoyed painting, was an expert crossword puzzle solver and an avid reader.
Morris Grodsky was preceded in death by his wife of over 50 years, Darlene Grodsky, his brother Conrad Grodsky, and his sister, Edith Massey.
He is survived by his two sons, Michael Grodsky of St. Simons Island, GA and Joshua Grodsky of San Francisco, CA, and his sister, Ethel Chilcott of Mountain View, CA.
Morris was an affable man who was kind and considerate to his family, friends, co-workers and the thousands of students he taught over the decades. A rare multi-talented unique human being who was loved by many, he will be greatly missed.
Services will be announced at a future date on the Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home website.
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