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By Ruth E. Dávila
Dr. Morrill Vittum, an award-winning agronomist from Cornell University, lived simply. But he also accumulated an impressive amount of savings and investments—and gave a large portion of it to charity. His eldest son, David, described Dr. Vittum's legacy as "one of being an extremely generous person with a big heart."
The three children born to Morrill Vittum and his wife, Winifred, easily recall their father's giving spirit and the life he and their mother built for the family.
"Dad was not a flashy kind of guy," said Allan Vittum, the second son, who runs a cemetery in Rochester, New York. "He would never buy a fancy car, fancy house, any of that. He was much happier giving money away."
Dr. Vittum donated to Habitat for more than 20 years, giving nearly $20,000. When he passed away in March 2010, he added a final estate gift.
The Good Earth
Born in 1919 in Haverhill, Mass., Morrill Vittum grew up on a small farm north of Boston with his parents, Elsie E. Morse and Joseph E. Vittum.
Fond of the outdoors, young Morrill turned his passion into a career as an agronomy researcher.
While pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at Massachusetts State College (now the University of Massachusetts), he met his future wife, Winifred Leslie Giles, a woman ahead of her time.
"On (Winifred's) first day of class taking an English course, the professor said, ‘I'm not surprised to see all these girls in here; you can't handle the sciences,' " said Patricia Vittum, their only daughter. "So she said, ‘Nuts to you,' and majored in botany."
Winifred and Morrill dated throughout college and married in 1941. After he completed a Master of Science degree in agronomy from the University of Connecticut and a doctorate in soil chemistry from Perdue University, they settled in upstate New York to raise a family.
Hired as a professor at Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in 1947, Dr. Vittum was running the department by 1962. His work in phenology—the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events—put him on the radar, specifically his documentation of bloom temperatures for 30 different plants at 40 sites in the Eastern United States. Cash croppers still use the data to determine ideal planting time.
At home, Dr. Vittum constantly sought ways to spark his children's curiosity about the world. He led his boys as a scoutmaster, teaching them survival skills. He took his children on "daddy trips" Sundays after church, where they would explore all corners of Western and Central New York.
Today the youngest Vittum, Patricia, is a renowned turf entomologist at the University of Massachusetts. She followed her mother's intrepid example, entering fields where women weren't always welcome. Her father always showed warm support—even when no female teams existed for any sport in her town.
"I was a frustrated athlete in the 1960s," Patricia said. "Dad would go in the backyard and hit pop flies so I could practice."
Patricia also accompanied her father on data collection trips. She remembers a hurricane in 1970, which wiped out corn in Elmira, N.Y.
"Dad looked at me and said, ‘That's why I didn't go into commercial agriculture; my paycheck doesn't depend on the weather,' " Pat said.
The professorial life certainly had its perks. Every seven years, Dr. Vittum used his yearlong sabbatical to take his family on trips across America—to places like California, Oregon and Washington, D.C.—which are his children's fondest memories. The family traveled through 46 different states during these leaves.
He and Winifred also spent short stints in Turkey, Romania and Yugoslavia while he advised governments on how to optimize crop production.
Plant a Seed; Change a Life
Morrill and Win were partners in travel and philanthropy for 62 years, until she passed away in 2004. They were pillars at the Presbyterian Church in Phelps, N.Y.; she was a gifted pianist and choir director, and he a tenor.
The Vittums sponsored several children abroad through Foster Parents Plan, but formed the closest bond with a Filipina girl named Verlaine. After meeting her while visiting the Philippines, they helped her to enter the United States and get a job in Rochester, N.Y. Verlaine, once established, brought her siblings and parents and planted new roots for her family in America.
"I would guess there are forty people in the U.S. in three generations because of mom and dad's love for little Verlaine," said David, a retired Navy officer who serves as a pastor with Calvary Chapel.
The commitment the Vittums had to Habitat was such that—in lieu of flowers—Dr. Vittum's obituary called on friends and family to make gifts to his church or to Habitat for Humanity.
"Millions of people don't have homes," Allan said, "but the ones who are working together with Habitat are going to get a new home and start a new life."
Dr. Morrill Vittum's grave marker reads: Plant a seed; Change a life.
"That was his heartbeat," David added. "He had a good moral upbringing from good moral people and changed many lives as a result."
Copyright © Habitat for Humanity, All rights reserved.
The information in this website is not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Figures cited in examples are for hypothetical purposes only and are subject to change. References to income tax apply to federal taxes only. Federal estate tax, state income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.
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