Some added notes on Joan Morris

UPDATE: Correct date is 1927.  Nancy's information came from obituary which listed her age as 73.   Birthdate on funeral home memorial is correct. She was 82 at the time of her death

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This post from Nancy (Bonar) Yockey provides some personal information not included in the memorial posted earlier. Nancy points out that Joan was born in 1937 and not 1927 as listed in her memorial. 

Bud Morris' widow, Joan, 73, died January 22 of cancer in the Lillian, Alabama, country home they so enjoyed. Joan had chosen at-home hospice care. At her side, as they had been for several weeks, were children Ann Miner Morris and Gary Morris.

Joan's memorial service was January 30, exactly 10 years after Bud lost his cancer battle. (The ashes of this sweet, fun,  gracious couple are now together.) They had been married 50 years when Bud died in 2000.

Many of us have wonderful memories of working at the ABJ with Bud, the women playing bridge with Joan, and gathering for socials at the Morris' farm home on South Medina Line Road. And, some of us have recollections of being entertained in Lillian and of their menagerie -- horses, dogs and cats and strays that loved the barn.

Among family pets when the Morrises lived on Cloverfield Drive in Copley was Gary's rooster, "Buddy." (Joan had given in to Gary's logic: "If I get a CHICKEN, we can eat the eggs." This would come to roost. Buddy not only awakened neighbors with his crack-of-dawn "cock-a-doodle-doo," but he had a very strong dislike of women to the point of trying to peck off their heads. To go from the front door to the street, Ann had to carry a broom to ward off Buddy's attacks.

Before the Morrises vacationed, Bob Feldkamp had agreed to check the house and pets. He tried, but failed, to put a collar/leash on Buddy to take the now hysterical  rooster for a walk. It was a Bud prank and for years they, and Beacon Journal colleagues, laughed about it.

A Mansfield native and Bowling Green University student, Joan moved to Texas where she met and married Bud in 1949. In late 1950, they moved to.Akron when Bud got a job in the ABJ editorial art department. He retired as art director in ('83???, and in 1987, they moved to Lillian, in part, to be near some of Joan's close relatives. At their rural home, there were horses for Joan to ride, a barn and its meadow to keep clean and pecan trees to harvest, Both were active with community groups and events. Joan, known as a terrific crafter, volunteered with the Foley Public Library and Foley Womens Club. Bud's donated illustrations graced many brochures and fliers, including for food festivals and Gulfport's annual Mullet-tossing event. (The fish are already dead.)

Ann Morris Miner and husband, Glenn, have two daughters, Jane, 19, and Erin, 23. They both inherited their grandmother Joan's talent for baking and cooking, and Jane, for horseback riding. Ann, a website designer, and Gary, a surveyor for a Houston contractor, acquired both of their parents' artistic talents. If you're a train enthusiast, check some of his photos --  Freedom train across America http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/gallery/aft.html  and  Akron/Barberton train cluster  http://www.railpixs.com/  Ann's website designs can be seen at www.talkinbroadway.com and www.minermiracles.com

As Joan's memorial program reads, "Getting to Heaven is on horseback." Now riding with Bud.

Should you wish, memorials may be made in Joan's name to:

Odyssey Hospice Healthcare
9805 Millwood Circle
Suite D
Daphne, ALA  36526
(251) 478-9900
or
United Methodist Church
12770 S. Perdido St.
Lillian, ALA 36549
or
American Cancer Society
19059 S, Grenno Rd.
Fairhope, ALA 36532

Contact Info, Morris Children;
Ann Morris Miner    annminer@minermiracles.com
                                   cell  724-612-1768 (she returns to Pittsburgh Feb. 23)

Gary Morris            garycm@sbcglobal.net