H. David Mosier Jr., M.D., of March Air Reserve Base in Southern California and Idyllwild, died Monday, May 22, 2017, at home. He was 92.
He was born May 22, 1925, in Topeka, Kansas, the firstborn of parents Harry David Mosier, D.D.S., and Josephine Morrow Johnson. His paternal great-grandparents, of Irish and German stock, homesteaded in western Kansas.
Dr. Harry Mosier started a dental practice in Herington in 1922, which he continued until his retirement 57 years later. David, never called Harry, attended Saint John Catholic School in Herington, Kansas and Herington High School, graduating with the class of 1943.
He was drafted for service into the U.S. Army during his first semester at the University of Notre Dame, returning in early 1946 to graduate, magna cum laude, with the class of 1948. During World War II, he served as chief of gun section (105 mm Howitzer) in France and Germany, and in the Black Forest region of Germany with the Army of Occupation. Later, as colonel in the Army Reserve Medical Corps, he served on active duty during Desert Shield/Storm (1990-91).
He graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1952, serving an internship year there before moving west for two years of residency at Childrens Hospital (University of Southern California) of Los Angeles, one in Pediatrics and one in Pediatric Pathology.
Returning to Johns Hopkins Hospital, he completed two years of a Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship prior to accepting a medical faculty appointment af the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1957, achieving tenure in 1961. He was certified by both the American Board of Pediatrics and the subspecialty Board of Pediatric Endocrinology.
He remembered being taught by the Saint John Catholic School nuns with fondness and credits them with providing him a solid educational foundation, as well as grounding in the tenants of his Catholic faith. He extended his religious studies at Notre Dame University, and his interest in the subject continued through life.
He loved classical music and became an accomplished amateur pianist. When he and his brother were in high school, both obtained private pilot licenses. He kept his FAA license all of his life, though he no longer flew as an adult. For several years recently, he and his wife, Marjorie, were Idyllwild Arts Academy trustees.
Dr. Mosier felt that his true calling was in research, especially in understanding controls of longitudinal growth. He was appointed director of research at the Illinois State Pediatric Institute and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Illinois, Chicago, in 1963. In 1967, he was appointed professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, where he remained for the duration of his career as head of the division of Pediatric Endocrinology, retiring in 2002. He maintained an active research laboratory and trained a number of Fellows in Pediatric Endocrinology at UCI.
He was a member of the university’s Academic Senate from 1967 to 2002. He also served as medical consultant to the Medical Board of California from 1995 to 2008. During his years in California, Dr. Mosier was on the staff of UCLA Medical Center, Pacific State Hospital in Pomona, Los Angeles County General Hospital, Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Miller Childrens Hospital in Long Beach, Childrens Hospital of Orange County in Orange, the U.S. Naval Regional Medical Center in Long Beach and the 6252d U.S. Army Hospital in Ventura.
He was a member of the Endocrine Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society, the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (founding member), the Western Society for Pediatric Research, Sigma Xi, the Orange County Pediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, California Chapter 2.
Dr. Mosier authored 87 peer-reviewed articles, 30 book chapters and 99 abstracts of presentations. He was a reviewer for numerous medical journals and granting agencies.
In 1949, he married Oclea Nadine Merilatt of Durham, Kansas, and had four children, Carolyn Josephine, William David, Daniel Thomas and Christine Elizabeth. The marriage ended in divorce.
In 1963, he married Marjorie Knight Armstrong. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie A. Mosier, M.D., of March Air Reserve Base; daughter Carolyn Pohlmeyer of Redding; son William (Maria Eugenia) Mosier, M.D., of Fullerton; son Daniel (Michele) Mosier, Esq., of Redding; daughter Christine Mosier, Ph.D., and son-in-law John Mahoney, Ph.D., of Redding; 10 grandchildren, John, Matthew and Stephen Pohlmeyer, Katherine Kintzle, Michael Mosier, M.D., Kristen Kenz, Benjamin and Kaitlyn Mosier and Shauna and Danielle Mahoney; and three great-grandchildren.
Also surviving are his brother, Richard M. Mosier, D.D.S., and sister-in-law, Norma Mosier, of Herington, Kansas, as well as four nephews, Kevin Mosier, M.D., Mark Mosier, D.D.S., James Mosier and John Mosier. As the grandchildren became old enough, David and Marjorie delighted in taking them, two at a time, to far-flung parts of the world, creating wonderful memories for both generations. Dr. Mosier’s interest in his family, his humor, gentle guidance and enduring love will be greatly missed.
Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 5 at the Church of Saint John The Evangelist, Herington, Kansas. Interment will be at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the University of Notre Dame online at http://supporting.nd.edu, by phone at 574-631-5150 or by mail at University of Notre Dame, Department of Development, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556.
