Harold Eugene Morse

Harold E. Morse, Jr. (Hal), educational cable TV executive and creator of The Learning Channel, died on January 5, 2021, of respiratory and heart complications. He was 83. Hal was a long-time resident of Falls Church, Virginia, and he cherished his family and friends above all else in life. Hal was a visionary, innovator, and pioneer in the education and cable television industry where he was one of the first to predict the importance of, and then eventually, implement the use of satellite technology to provide educational programming in remote areas of Appalachia and later to the general population. Born in Auburn, NY, Hal graduated from Auburn High School in 1955 and then attended the State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego where he received his undergraduate and master’s of science degrees in education in 1961 and 1963. Hal began his career in education in 1960 as a sixth-grade teacher in Rome, New York public schools. A move to Washington, DC in 1964, led him to a position as a Washington Fellow during the President Lyndon Johnson administration. He helped create and implement the Developing Institutions Program for assisting black colleges and universities. In 1969, he earned his Ph.D. degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. Upon returning to Washington D.C., he started working with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) where he helped to build vocational schools, university facilities and teacher training project. He then became the executive director of a NASA-based program to train teachers and physicians via satellite in Appalachia and Alaska. At the same time, ARC created the nonprofit Appalachian Community Service Network (ACSN), and Hal was appointed President. ACSN provided coverage beyond the original footprint of ARC and made cable programming available to home viewers for the first time. ACSN was the only cable network with a full-time commitment to deliver educational, instructional, and informational programs for adults. In 1980, Hal founded The Learning Channel and served as its Chairman and CEO until 1991. Concurrently he served as President and CEO of ACSN, which functioned as the parent corporation of The Learning Channel between 1980 and 1991. Under his leadership, The Learning Channel became one of the nation's fastest growing cable networks, serving more than 20 million television households in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada by the end of his tenure. Discovery Communications acquired The Learning Channel and ACSN in 1991. In 1992, Hal and J. Carter Brown, the late Director Emeritus of the National Gallery of Art, joined forces to create OVATION TV, as a platform to bring the arts to the wider audience. OVATION was sold in 2006 and remains operational today. Between 2006 and 2020, Hal served as the Chairman and CEO of the Health and Healing Network, an integrative medical Internet-based service that created holistic and alternative medical programming for cable, On-demand, and streaming platforms. Hal’s commitment to bringing quality education, arts, and health programming to television has been widely recognized. He was the recipient of the prestigious Vanguard Award for Programmers from the National Cable Television Association and, in 1998, he received the University of Washington's Distinguished Graduate Award. Hal was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2001 and a Distinguished Service Alumni Award in 2002, from SUNY Oswego. He also served as a board member of the Oswego State University Foundation. Hal deeply loved his family and friends and was always there whenever someone needed him. He loved sports, including his ardent support of his kids’ and grandkids’ sporting events and also playing on the Red Eyes soccer team. His signature look on the soccer field was a red bandana tied around his forehead. He loved supporting local sports teams, especially the Washington Football Team. Hal is survived by his wife Sue Grabill Morse, Falls Church, VA; son Kevin Morse and wife Kirsten, Bow, WA; daughter Catherine Morse Bingham and husband Terry, Arlington, VA; stepdaughter Angela Grabill Long and husband Craig, Eugene, OR; brother David Morse and wife Sharon, Savannah, NY; niece Kimberley Morse Bullman, Frederick, MD; nephew David Morse, Jr., York, PA; niece Kelly Sue Frost, Auburn, NY; grandchildren Pepper Morse, Joseph Morse, Skyler Morse, Anthony Ganz, Sophia Ganz, Stephen Ganz; and step grandchildren Shannon Long, Camryn Long, Hunter Bingham, Siena Bingham, and Ray Bingham; grandniece Madison Morse; and first wife Barbara Adolfi and husband Ray Boc of Sperryville, VA. He is preceded in death by his parents, Harold E. Morse Sr., and Charlotte Jackson Morse; his brother Robert Morse and sisters Mary Jane Morse and Charlotte Morse Frost; and stepson Douglas Bradley Grabill. Gifts in Hal's memory can be made to the Harold E. Morse '61 Family Scholarship Fund at alumni.oswego.edu/givenow, by mail to the Oswego College Foundation, University Development, 215 Sheldon Hall, Oswego, NY 13126, or at 315-312-3003. Hal will be interred at the National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Virginia, near the Fountain of Faith, an appropriate location to recognize the deep commitment to his own faith. A celebration of his life will take place when it is safe to gather family and friends. Tis a Fearful Thing by Yehuda HaLevi (1075 – 1141) ‘Tis a fearful thing to love what death can touch. A fearful thing to love, to hope, to dream, to be – to be, And oh, to lose. A thing for fools, this, And a holy thing, a holy thing to love. For your life has lived in me, your laugh once lifted me, your word was gift to me. To remember this brings painful joy. ‘Tis a human thing, love, a holy thing, to love what death has touched.