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Thursday, September 05, 2002

By Nate Guidry, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Robert T. Morelli, a retired metallurgist and accomplished musician, died of cancer Tuesday at the Baptist Home Nursing Center in Mt. Lebanon. He was 80.

Mr. Morelli, who was a member of the Pittsburgh Area Theatre Organ Society, was spotlighted in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story last week that traced the history of the organization and the restoration of its Mighty Wurlitzer. The organ is currently installed in the Keystone Oaks High School auditorium.

Just days before his death, Mr. Morelli phoned the reporter who wrote the story to wish him well.

"That's the kind of person he was," said his son, Ron. "After his surgery, he would return to the hospital and visit with other patients trying to cheer them up. And if there was a piano in the room, he would play and everyone would just gather around. He loved to entertain people."

Mr. Morelli grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and for a time led a small dance band called the Avalon Orchestra.

During World War II, Mr. Morelli was drafted into the Army and served more than three years as a medic in the 136th Evacuation Hospital.

After his discharge, he returned to New York and went to work as a metallurgist for Crucible Steel. He was eventually transferred to Pittsburgh, settling in Brookline.

In 1950, he and his wife, Dorothy, moved to Baldwin Borough, where Mr. Morelli remained almost until his death. His wife died in 1993.

In 1977, Mr. Morelli, who worked for Crucible Steel for 35 years, was awarded a patent for nonmagnetic alloy steel.

"He always felt that knowledge was more important than information," said his son, Bill. "He wanted to know things. He never got a formal degree, but he took specialized courses in mathematics, physics and other subjects.

"When he became interested in ham radios, he wanted to know the history of the radio. He studied math and literature. He was a broad-based man."

Three years ago, Mr. Morelli got his private pilot's license.

"He was a person who hated being told he couldn't do something," said Ron. "He enjoyed flying even after he was diagnosed with cancer."

But Mr. Morelli's greatest love were the Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organs.

The Wurlitzers replaced orchestras in accompanying silent films. Organists provided musical effects for fight, chase and love scenes. They also had at their disposal a set of special effects like horse hooves, fire gongs and steam whistles.

"The Wurlitzer can play softly or with great power," he told the Post-Gazette. "There are instruments that purport to simulate the theater organ, but they don't create the same sound on your eardrum.

"They've done a respectable job, but the difference is, when you open the shades of a pipe organ, you hear the sound reverberating against your eardrum live. It doesn't go through any speakers or electronics."

Mr. Morelli was the conscience of the organization, said Fran Verri, organization secretary and editor of its bimonthly newsletter, Pipes of Patos.

"He was very serious about the instrument remaining pure and true to its original design," said Verri.

In addition to his sons, Mr. Morelli is survived by a brother, Henry R. Morelli of Collingwood, Ontario, and two grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. today at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home, 301 Curry Hollow Road, Pleasant Hills. Burial will be in Jefferson Memorial Park.

Nate Guidry can be reached at nguidry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3865.

Thursday, September 05, 2002