Dr. Morgan D. Delaney, 77, a lifelong resident of Alexandria, Virginia, died at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, on April 24, 2024, from complications following routine surgery.

Morgan was born on July 16, 1946, in Alexandria, Virginia, to Dr. Martin D. Delaney, Jr., and Maude Owens Delaney. His father’s ancestor, who had earlier emigrated from Ireland, settled in Alexandria shortly after the Civil War and purchased a large farm in Prince William County where he raised horses to supply the U. S. Army. Morgan’s grandfather was a distinguished Alexandria physician as were his father and uncle. Morgan and his three brothers all pursued medical careers.

Morgan attended the University of Virginia for both his undergraduate and medical degrees, and followed with internships, residencies and fellowships at Emory, George Washington, and the University of Miami, to become an associate professor as a pulmonologist with expertise in interstitial lung disease at George Washington University School of Medicine. He was a fellow of the College of Chest Physicians. During his over forty-five-year tenure at GW, Morgan was recognized as one of the leading pulmonologists in Washington, DC, always being listed in various publications as such. He taught thousands of medical students, residents and fellows and mentored many junior faculty members.  In recognition of his prowess in academic medical education, Morgan received the American College of Physicians Walter Lester Henry, Jr. Memorial Award for a Lifetime of Excellent Teaching and received the best faculty teacher of the year award at GW.
He retired in June 2023. Morgan died surrounded by physicians who loved him.

In addition to his dedication to medicine, Morgan was an accomplished scholar of the decorative arts, including regional furniture, and a passionate restorer of old houses. Over the course of his life, Morgan meticulously preserved three early houses in Alexandria: 220 S. Fayette Street, 808 Prince Street, and his current home, Ghequiere House, 202 King Street, a late 18 th century merchant’s house with most of its original ornamental plasterwork and woodwork intact. Morgan also saved an early 20 th century cottage in Fauquier County nearly destroyed by neglect.

Moreover, Morgan was dedicated to protecting the entire built environment of Old Town Alexandria and pursued an active career supporting, persuading, cajoling, even fighting when necessary. He was the President of Historic Alexandria Foundation for some forty years, since the mid-1980’s. Under Morgan’s long-time leadership, HAF made numerous preservation grants to support local historic institutions, such as the Athenaeum and the Lee-Fendall House, led the effort to save important buildings under threat, such as the now restored 1785 Alexandria Academy, which was acquired by HAF in 1995, and generally advocated for commonsense solutions to sometimes thorny problems, with preservation always paramount. The ability to raise funds was one of Morgan’s many gifts. For many years he guided the development of the Alexandria Antiques Show to fund preservation. Under Morgan’s direction, the Foundation has given over 2 million dollars to projects ranging from bricks and mortar restoration work to conservation of artifacts in local museum buildings, to scholarly research on aspects of Alexandria’s cultural and architectural history.  It would be impossible to separate Morgan’s very being from the preservation of his native city.

Morgan is survived by his spouse, Osborne Phinizy Mackie, two brothers, Dr. Michael Delaney (Margot), and Dr. John Delaney (Mary), four sisters, Margaret Baldwin, Mary Jo Warren, Martha Delaney, Patricia Delaney Yurgaitis, a sister-in-law, Katharine C. Mackie, and a brother-in-law, Dr. Clayton Boardman Wimberly, as well as many devoted nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 17 th , at 11:00 am at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 228 S. Pitt Street, Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.

Donations may be made in honor of Dr. Morgan D. Delaney to:
Historic Alexandria Foundation, 218 North Lee Street, Suite 310, Alexandria, VA 22314. (or PayPal at HistoricAlexandriaFoundation.org) Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible.

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