In Memoriam

Dr. Morrissy was born and spent his childhood on the South Side of Chicago. His family moved to West Palm Beach when he was in high school, and it was here that he had his first experience with orthopaedic surgery. While working as a hospital orderly, he was invited to witness surgery by Dr. Philip Lichtlblau—a surgeon he always saw as a mentor. It was this experience that ignited a passion to become an orthopaedic surgeon. 

Dr. Morrissy returned to Chicago for both undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago and medical school at the Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. He worked as a surgical technologist throughout medical school—cementing his interest in orthopaedic surgery. After a surgical internship at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center, he headed to Boston for a residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital program. Dr. Morrissy would comment that it was his work with Dr. Bill Harris that inspired him to be a clinician/scientist and also where he found a life-long collaborator in co-resident Dr. Tony Herring. His work with Dr. John Hall at Boston Children’s led him to his career in the new specialty of pediatric orthopaedic surgery.

After residency, Dr. Morrissy fulfilled his military obligation at Travis Air Force Base. It was in California that he rediscovered his love of hunting, as well as his skill at competitive skeet shooting and retriever field trials. He continued with these avocations throughout his career and into retirement.

He started his career as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Arkansas. After a short time, he was recruited by Dr. Wood Lovell, one of the founding members of POSNA, to serve as the Medical Director at the Atlanta Scottish Rite Hospital. Dr. Lovell had recently overseen the move of the Atlanta Scottish Rite from a 50-bed single specialty orthopaedic facility to its present location. Dr. Morrissy built on Dr. Lovell’s foundation to expand the hospital into a full-service pediatric medical center. He was a driving force in joining the Scottish Rite and Egleston Children’s Hospital into Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, one of the largest pediatric clinical centers in the country.

Under Dr. Morrissy’s administrative leadership, Scottish Rite’s orthopaedic surgery program rose to national stature. He maintained a busy clinic and surgical schedule, treating a wide variety of pediatric orthopaedic pathology, ranging from clubfeet to spinal deformity. He authored numerous scientific manuscripts and edited the seminal Lovell and Winter’s Pediatric Orthopaedics for over 30 years and added an illustrated atlas of pediatric orthopaedic surgical procedures.

Dr. Morrissy held numerous leadership positions in pediatric orthopaedic societies. He was the director of the Scottish Rite Pediatric Orthopedic Fellowship, responsible for training hundreds of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons and orthopaedic residents. He was an honest investigator who was always seeking the truth and a thorough teacher—ensuring his learners knew the facts, understood the principles, and continued to question the unknown. He was sought after as a visiting professor for his depth and breadth of knowledge in addition to his critical thinking. He was honored with the POSNA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2007, just after he retired from clinical practice, and was inducted into the POSNA Hall of Fame in 2019. 

Previous fellows recall his sharp wit, brilliant orthopaedic mind, and “Ray-isms” that are often repeated by previous teaching conferences in Atlanta as well as across the world. Dr. Morrissy has impacted countless lives directly as a physician and indirectly as a mentor. You always had to bring your best game when around Ray—and with that, he brought out the best in everyone. He will be missed by the pediatric orthopaedic community, but his impact will not be forgotten.

Michael Schmitz, MD
Chief Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center
Dr. Philip K. Boyne and Kathryn Boyne Kearney Endowed Chair
Children’s Health Care of Atlanta