U.S. Middle District Judge Malcolm Muir and Donald B. Stabler were remembered Sunday by family members and others as hardworking men of high intellect and upright principles.
During a formal dedication of the new Susquehanna Health emergency department in the name of Muir, some recounted how the two were linked throughout their lives.
A $3 million donation from the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation has made possible a new and improved ER department at Williamsport Regional Medical Center.
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MIKE REUTHER/Sun-Gazette
Sherrill T. Moyer, a member of the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation, addresses the gathering of people at Sunday’s dedication of the Susquehanna Health emergency room department. A gift from the foundation made it possible for an improved emergency department at Williamsport Regional Medical Center. The new unit is being named for the late Judge Malcolm Muir, whose portrait can be seen just to the right of Moyer.
As part of the health system's Project 2012 expansion project, the unit can accommodate the hospital's increasing emergency patient load, according to Susquehanna Health President and CEO Steve Johnson.
"The emergency room is one of the 25 busiest in Pennsylvania," he said.
The emergency department last was updated in 1972.
Dr. George A. Manchester, Susquehanna's senior vice president and chief medical officer, said the ER just may be the most important construction project in the community.
For many years the emergency department was functional but in dire need of improvements.
The new unit provides much better access as well as privacy for patients.
Johnson noted that in a time of rising health care costs, the Stabler-Muir combination serves as a fine example of what can be done to help the community serve its people.
Sherrill T. Moyer, a Stabler Foundation board director, said Muir served as Stabler's attorney.
He noted that Stabler, who owned and operated construction firms, could attribute much of his success to Muir.
"He looked to Muir to establish the foundation," Moyer explained.
Muir left private law practice in 1970 after being appointed as a federal judge.
The men had much in common, he said, including a hard work ethic.
Stabler continued to have a big part in his business operations until he died at age 89 in 1997.
Muir, the third oldest federal judge in the U.S., still was working on Social Security issues up until his death last year at age 96.
Malcolm Muir Jr. noted that his father took a pay cut to become a judge.
But it was job he felt he could take on to make a difference in the lives of people, he said.
Sister Teresa Ann Jacobs, director of Sponsorship for Sisters of Christian Charity, noted that just as Muir served the cause for justice, the health system carries out its role of helping others.
"More people will have a means to a good life from this emergency room," said Susquehanna Health Vice President for Development Sherry Watts.
