I was so lucky to be involved in the PERC group for many years.  Harold and Joel would figure out things for us all to try, and my students were excited to be part of experiments that were aimed at finding ways to help students learn better.  Harold arranged for the PERC group to meet (often in Seattle, or in Chicago) and discuss and plan, and one time he said he would arrange for my plane ticket to Chicago.  When I got on the plane, I could see where he was sitting several rows ahead of me, but my seat was in the middle of a row, scrunched between two very large fellows who could not help overflowing their seats.  Harold came back to say hello and wish me a good trip, and when he saw my predicament his eyes sparkled, and I could tell he had several remarks he decided not to say, but he managed to hold himself to a rumbling chuckle while arranging with the flight attendant to get me another seat.  I really appreciated Harold's encouragement of my ideas for getting students actively involved in their learning - he was an energetic mentor.   Jane, you and Harold were always so welcoming.  Tammy, your dad was so proud of you.  We will all miss him, but there are such good memories, and a lasting influence. 

From Paula Mitchell

Dearest Jane,

We are so sorry about Harold's passing.  He was a great man - witty, smart and kind.  And a great friend.

He/you were so welcoming and open with your friendship when we moved in. I remember seeing Harold when I was running around Greenlake and he was walking in the opposite direction. I was so surprised to see him but then, knowing him a while after that, realized he walked all the time, everywhere!

Sam still talks about his approach to learning (vs teaching), and how that has stuck with her since he gave her his book. She is a long term sub in the Eastmont school district over in East Wenatchee. She teaches HS English and creative writing. She loves it and sounds like she’s learning a ton every day herself 🙂. Please let him know he has a hand in that and in how she tries to relate to her kids. -- Paula Mitchell

From Carolyn Merritt

Gordon & I always enjoyed going to hear wonderful musicians & singers, many of whom were friends of yours. Harold, you really helped educate so many young musicians & singers while spreading your passionate love of music, especially jazz! -- Carolyn Merritt

From Marty Frank (Retired Executive Director at American Physiological Society)

Dear Jane,

I don't recall if we ever met during my tenure as APS Executive Director, but I did get to know your husband quite well. He was one of our loudest advocates for the Teaching of Physiology section and for the creation of Advances in Physiology Education. His passion and dedication to teaching and education helped to make APS a better, more representative organization. While he will be missed by all who knew him, it is reassuring to also know that he left the Society with a lasting legacy. His legacy will serve to benefit many future physiologists.

Please accept my sincere condolences. He was a friend and colleague who I will miss. May his memory be a blessing to you and your family.

Wishing you all the best,

Marty

Martin Frank

 From Miriam Doyle

The heartfelt appreciation of our family, and interest in our children especially, over the years has been so genuine and wonderful. It has meant a lot to Ken and myself all these years. You are such good neighbors and a big thank you to both of you and Harold especially. We enjoyed so many interesting conversations over the years and I miss seeing him out and about for those terrific exchanges. -- Miriam Doyle

From Kathryn and Brandon Rigoni

I have such fond memories of visiting you all in Seattle…enjoying summers exploring the city, walking around the lake, Harold introducing Anna and I to jazz music and always generously treating us like his own daughters. He was a wonderful uncle and I will miss him dearly. Brandon also wanted to say he loved getting to know Harold and enjoyed every conversation he got to have with him. He wishes we had more time together as a family. We love you all❤️

Our deepest condolences,

Kathryn and Brandon Rigoni

 From Vicky Wang

I share in your grief and send you all my love in this time of sadness. The candle may go out, but the memory of its light remains. My heartfelt condolences for your loss. -- Vicky Wang

From Margo Kravette

Harold had a wonderful sense of humor and I personally enjoyed bantering with him back and forth, always with a smile. We will certainly miss him at our annual neighborhood event. -- Margo Kravette

From Joel Michael

Harold and I were friends (as well as collaborators) for a very long time, and I will miss our conversations and the cheery "good morning" whenever I picked up the phone to talk to him. --Joel Michael

From Shani Miller

Prayers of comfort and peace. Harold was a wonderful man and filled my memory with so many interesting experiences and ways to look at life. I am forever grateful. I love you. Thinking of you. - Shani Miller  

From The DeMiero JazzFest Extended Board

 (Louise Uriu, Rob Hyatt, Dee Daniels, Kim Nazarian, Regina Caretta, Linda Harvey )

Harold was such an important part of our DeMiero Jazz Festival family and team, for so many years. As Rob Hyatt said, "Harold wouldn't let you phone it in....he made us all think...." He was such a support of our yearly jazz festivals, which touched so many students' lives, and Harold always reminded us of the educational component of everything we did. He was on our Board, and he was close friends with Frank and the DeMiero family.

Harold will be missed. We on the DeMiero Jazz Fest Board and Extended Board send our love to you and know we are thinking about you all.

The DeMiero Jazz Fest Extended Board including:

Louise Uriu, Rob Hyatt, Dee Daniels, Kim Nazarian (NY Voices), Regina Carretta, Linda Harvey

From Laura Bohn

He has made such an impact in the world, it’s been an honor and pleasure to know Harold and I wanted to thank him for his enthusiasm and passion for all music and art as a great example!

Your friend, Laura Bohn

Human Anatomy and Physiology Society Memorial 

https://blog.lifescitrc.org/p…

The death of a legend, pioneer, and mentor – Harold Modell

We are sad to announce that Harold Modell, one of the founders of the APS Teaching Section, passed away on Saturday, April 8, 2023 at his home in Seattle. Younger members of HAPS may not remember Harold because his attendance at meetings recently had been limited by failing health, but for more than 30 years Harold was an active and vocal member of the APS teaching community. Harold was the founding editor-in-chief for Advances in Physiology Education, and the APS Teaching Section honored his contributions to the Society by selecting him to be the 2004 Claude Bernard Distinguished Lecturer. More recently, Harold was one of the founding members of the group that generated the core concepts of physiology, evolved in large part from his 2000 article in Advances, “How to help students understand physiology? Emphasize general models.”

Joel Michael, a longtime friend and collaborator of Harold’s writes:

Harold was an early proponent of computers in physiology education and self-published a newsletter titled "Computers in Life Science Education." He was also an early proponent of active learning and he and I published a book "Active Learning in Secondary and College Science Classrooms"(2003) that has, I believe, been widely read.

Harold and I were two of the early, and very vocal, proponents of establishing a Teaching Section (to give educators some program visibility at FASEB meetings) and establishing an education journal (so we and other education researchers would have somewhere to publish our work).

Harold knew everybody in physiology (in part because he got his PhD in Guyton's department) and lots of people knew Harold. He established the Physiology Education Research Consortium that brought about collaborative research by a large number of our colleagues. I think he had a significant impact on the development of physiology education research.

Harold will be remembered for his motto, “helping the learner to learn.”

From Nina Zanetti

At this year's HAPS conference I’ll be presenting a workshop (“Histology: Disjointed Facts or Unifying Principles”) that was directly inspired by a talk that Harold gave, I believe the first year I attended HAPS (2000?). He talked about unifying principles (“models”) in Physiology and then challenged those of us who teach the more structural aspects of A and P to see if we could come up with similar sets of unifying principles. Because I mostly teach Histology I took on the challenge for that subject, found that there are some unifying principles, and have been using these as a framework for my course ever since.

-Nina Zanetti  

From Dee Silverthorn

He was one of a kind, and his contributions to physiology education will long outlive him.

It is never easy to say goodbye, even when you know it's coming. May time and family bring you some comfort and peace.

a virtual hug,

Dee Silverthorn

10.21.2012

A Special Treat

I love when you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be. I felt that way last Monday during

what I thought was going to be just another class.

One of my professors- Dr. M (who is already in the running for one of my favorite professors/people of all time), surprised my entire class with a "special session" featuring two music legends- Frank DeMiero and Louise Rose. Admittedly, none of us knew who they were or what they were doing there when we first entered the beautiful chapel, where one hundred or so chairs encompassed a beautiful black piano forte, but we knew they were there for a reason and that we were going to experience something extraordinary.

I have to say, once I saw Dr. M with that grin on his face, and remembered his love for music (demonstrated by the fact that wherever he is, there is some beautiful jazz music playing), I knew he was up to something.  Dr. M has a special knack for reading people by observing carefully and listening even more.  He is also able to simplify every situation and help us uncover the truth of the matter and the truth of our feelings- in both an academic and personal sense, which is what I think makes him such a profound educator. He always asks

us, What do you see? NOT What do you know? or What is this?  With that said, I believe he was in tune with the fact that as first-quarter-first-year medical students, our confidence and faith was dwindling, to put it lightly.  We just survived our first round of midterms, and most of us were feeling....dead inside. We were exhausted, doubtful, irritated, scared, anxious, etc.  I personally was losing touch with my abilities and to some extent, my soul. Intense, right? It is what it is.

After we all took our seats and started hypothesizing about what was going on after spotting a few of our other teachers as well as the President of our school, Dr. M introduced his two friends, and we were instantly pumped. Mr. DeMiero was up first.  Turns out that he is an incredibly talented and well known jazz musician/conductor, and is one of the voters in the Grammy's! Crazy, right? Well, we instantly felt comfortable around him and gave him a warm welcome because he had a funny, honest, warm, and almost goofy quality about him. Within a few minutes of knowing him, he became the Italian grandpa we never had. Mr. DeMiero attempted to break the ice and help us feel more comfortable. He asked us what our first memory was, which yielded some really interesting answers. DeMiero told us about his first memory, then dropped the bomb that we were going to learn how to sing Dona Nobis Pacem. We were all shocked. I personally expected to be serenaded once he was introduced to us! LOL. But, I was also super excited because I have a strong musical background and haven't read music in years (I don't think I've told you guys this! I play(ed) the violin, clarinet, and piano since I was a kid. I also sing). We were a bit shy at first. Even though he broke us up into four sections, with about 30 people in each session, we were all self-conscious and felt as if it was a task that we were being judged on- alas, in medical school....we're judged and tested every day...But, after trying a few times, we all got the hang of it and actually sounded good. But this didn't happen until he taught us how to sing with welcoming faces, to sing from the heart, and to sing with intent.  There came a point when we realized that we were able to learn a new song (with a 3 part harmony) and sing it well within an hour, and enjoy the process. This was the point. Mr. DeMiero then invited us to join his rehearsal-free choir that meets every Tuesday. We were grateful and so ready for our next "lesson" from Ms. Rose.

Now, as a black woman, I was soooooooooooooo happy to see another black woman, especially one so talented and experienced as Ms. Rose, who has played with Duke Ellington and Leonard Bernstein (whoaaaaa). I, and probably just a few others, felt instantly attracted to the strong Louise Rose, who had a beautiful and powerful presence, which I sensed actually made a few people a little nervous (this is to be expected as most people tend to be intimidated by strong, confident, talented black women...but that's another story...) due to the straightened postures, nervous giggling, and lack of clapping once she was introduced.  But, I wasn't worried about that, because lessons were about to be learned, in a different and profound way.  Within half an hour, Ms. Rose became that loving, wise, no-nonsense mysterious auntie that we never had. Ms. Rose asked the tough questions that penetrated us deeply. Why are you here? Why are you doing what you are doing? Is your work inspired? If there was nothing in it for you, would you still do it? Who are you? What do you believe in? What is faith? What is doubt? What is confidence?  She really touched a deep place in us- probably a place where many of us haven't been. That deep place was familiar territory for me since my soul always dwells in deep places, but it was quite spectacular to experience that with my classmates, since again, most of us felt as if our souls were stripped due to the robotic nature of medical school.  Ms. Rose proceeded to play us some beautiful pieces on the piano, and she played them with heart and soul. Then, she taught us the words to the song (though 2/3 of the class already knew the words since Dr. M played the song for some sections before Physiology lab the week before), and we sang with her.  Then we sang and we sang and we sang until it became second nature. And we danced and we smiled and we teared up and we laughed as we sang the words to Bing Crosby's Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive. The words went a little bit like this:

You've got to accentuate the positiveEliminate the negativeLatch on to the affirmativeDon't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximumBring gloom down to the minimumHave faith or pandemoniumLiable to walk upon the scene...

We finished the session feeling ready to take on the world.  We remembered what was important- why we are doing this work- who we are- what we love. We were able to reach deep within and reclaim our purpose, and that is so special. This all happened because we were able to let go, learn something  new, embrace a new experience, improvise, and collaborate- all within 1 hour and 50 minutes, the standard amount of class time.

I love Bastyr. I can't help but feel so deeply appreciative of it. Really and truly, I have never been around so many profound educators, such as Dr. M. I mean what type of school do we go to where our teachers organize professional jazz musicians to teach us music and bedazzle us with not only their talent but with their lessons? What type of medical school actually nurtures us as doctors, thinkers, and people? Where else do teachers insist that we walk around and stretch during the half-time of exams? Tell me, where else do teachers lead students in meditation (which I use for prayer to Jesus and Jesus only), before proceeding with the day's lesson? I had similar questions during our first exam where Dr. M played us some jazz music to help ease off the stress, or when my Anatomy lab professor met up with me to help me deal with my new-found anxiety in the funniest of ways, or when another professor told me about her unique past as we shared stories in the medicinal garden.  Bastyr is a special place. It's not perfect- it really isn't, but it's surely special. After this session, I was even more convinced that I was placed (by God) in this space for a reason. This is where I was meant to think, to feel, to learn, and to grow. I can't wait 'til the next lesson. And I thank, Dr. M and his two friends.

From Yvonne DeMiero

Dr. Modell was a close friend to the DeMiero family, the jazz festival family and to his family of thousands of students at Bastyr University.

In 1979 Harold learned that Anita Kerr was going to perform at Edmonds Community College and made it a point to attend the concert. He told us how much he enjoyed hearing the Anita Kerr Singers, but was totally blown away by the college jazz choir, Soundsation! After the concert Harold made it a point to meet the group’s director, Frank DeMiero. From that date on Harold and Jane were devoted supporters of Soundsation.

As a physiology instructor, Dr. Modell was intrigued by Frank’s teaching methodology and they often had deep discussions regarding how to teach learners to learn.

Many of Harold’s Bastyr medical students carried heavy loads and were frequently stressed out regarding their exams. So at the beginning of finals week he would schedule a surprise forum for his students.The presenters were musicians i.e. Louise Rose, Frank DeMiero, etc.These musical sessions proved to be fun, relaxing and beneficial over the years. You may enjoy reading the attached example.

As well as being a dear friend, Harold served on the DeMiero Jazz Festival Board of Directors for many years.

He will be sorely missed.

Love, Yvonne DeMiero

From Anna Davis

Your dad was a great physiology teaching mentor to me. He asked me lots of questions and required that I make my thinking visible to him - in drawing, through conversations - so that I could have my own "ah-has". Also, he shared the resources he created for teaching physiology with me and through reading these, doing his "problems" and answering his questions I became a real systems physiologist and a much better teacher. I will always be grateful for my friendship with your dad.  -- Anna Davis