Lee Eastman Schacht ’52

Lee Eastman Schacht ’52 of Minneapolis passed away on March 7, 2010, in Palm Desert, California, after a short illness. He was born September 13, 1930, in Racine, Wisconsin. Schacht received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, where he majored in chemistry-zoology. He then earned an M.S. from the University of Michigan, where he later taught human genetics at the University of Michigan Medical School. In 1959 he received his Ph.D. in human genetics from the University of North Carolina. Beginning in 1960 Dr. Schacht served as the head of the human genetics unit for the Minnesota Department of Health and frequently taught at the University of Minnesota Medical School. During his professional and academic career Dr. Schacht specialized in several areas of genetic study, became a nationally recognized expert on Huntington’s disease and served on several national committees on metal health and developmental disability issues. Through the years he was a regular contributor to the American Journal of Human Genetics and related publications. Dr. Schacht resided in Long Lake, Minnesota, for many years until moving to Minneapolis in 1980. He was preceded in death by lifelong partner Ellis Garberson. Nephews Ted and Kurt Schacht and their spouses, niece Nancy Schacht and her spouse, several great-nephews and a great-niece survive him.