Kenneth Douglas

Kenneth Harmon Douglass died August 3, 2018, at home with his wife and daughter at his side. He was born October 27, 1942, in Rochester, N.Y., the first son of Pritchard and Elizabeth (Harmon) Douglass.
Kenneth graduated from the University of Rochester in 1964, with a BS in physics, from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1966, with a MS in physics and from Carnegie Mellon University in 1970, with a PhD in theoretical physics.
He worked at Johns Hopkins University Department of Biophysics. Kenneth worked on measuring thallium binding to DNA, isolating ribosomes from cells and electron microscopy of single strand DNA. However, most of his career was spent in research at the Division of Nuclear Medicine at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Among the many projects and published papers he worked on he also helped evaluate the nuclear stethoscope and created computer programs to analyze nuclear medicine images. The most significant project he participated in was to calculate biochemical parameters from PET scan data for dopamine and opiate receptors in the brain. This was the first time this was done.
In 1988, Kenneth came to West Virginia University as a medical physicist in the Department of Radiology. He retired in 2000, as Director of Radiation Safety for WVU and WVU Hospital.
For nearly 60 years of his life he had to contend with serious medical issues. In spite of his physical limitations he met every challenge without complaint and persevered until he finally, after a five year battle, succumbed to pancreatic cancer.
Kenneth is survived by his wife, Nancy (Hess) Douglass; daughter, Melanie Joy Douglass; brother, Steven Douglass, of Rochester, N.Y.; sister, Marilyn (Mark) Wold, of Palm Springs, Calif.; sister-in-law, Madline Hess, of Markleysburg, Pa. and by a niece; 10 nephews and their families.
He was predeceased by his parents; his father and mother-in-law, Ralph and Irene (Barber) Hess; sister-in-law, Eunice Douglass and brother-in-law, Walt Hess, who also had pancreatic cancer.
Friends will be received in the Shell Funeral Home, Inc., in Uniontown,  from 2 – 7 p.m.  on Monday, August 6, and on Tuesday at the Morgantown Bible Church, from 10- 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 7, with the funeral service to follow  with Pastor Jim Cooley officiating. Interment will be private in Sylvan Heights Cemetery, Uniontown, Pa.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Jon Cardinal, Dr. Sobha Kurian, all the staff at MBRCC and the staff of Amedisys Hospice for their skill and care through this difficult time.
Contributions may be made in Kenneth’s memory to the Free Methodist International Childcare Ministries, 770 N. High School Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46214.