John Ernest Morris died peacefully on May 24th, 2019. John was born to Charles C. Morris and Yvonne Naum on January 29th, 1963. The family, including older brothers, Edward James and Frederick William, was living in a farmhouse on Mercer Island, on extensive property held by their grandparents, Charles F. and Vera Morris. John felt a particular pride and kinship with his Welsh Morris forebears who were pre-Revolutionary immigrants. John’s father, Charles C. was pursuing the M.D. degree at the University of Washington, intending to be a psychiatrist. John’s parents, Charles and Yvonne, had already earned Ph.D. degrees in Biology at Columbia University in New York City.
John grew up in Seattle, mostly in the Ravenna neighborhood, after his parents’ divorce. The Morris boys and their mom attended University Unitarian Church. John attended Roosevelt High School and loved to play guitar and to ski. He felt deeply the loss of his father, who died while scuba diving in 1977.
John joined his mom in New York City in the ‘80s. Back in Seattle in 1996, John took possession of a lot in the Index River Sites that his Morris grandparents had purchased in the ‘50s. He loved the natural setting and built a cabin there. He had two long-time canine companions, first Charley, and then Harley.
John’s brother, Edward, predeceased him in 1999. He is missed by his mom, Yvonne, his brother, Fred Morris, and his Aunt, Helen Panajoti, in New York. You are invited to make a contribution, in remembrance of John, toward preserving the forests or saving the Orcas.