Tony Morris, age 84, resident of Nacogdoches, Texas, passed from this life on Friday, April 3, 2020, at the Cecil R. Bomar Rehabilitation Center in Nacogdoches.
Born July 6, 1935, in Decatur, Texas, to Bessie Evel Pruett Morris and Jesse Lee Morris, Tony grew up in north Texas and lived most of the first half of his life there. After two years at North Texas State University, he volunteered for the army and served stateside for two years during the Korean conflict. He was married to Dorothy Jamie Fowler from 1955 until her death in 1971; they had two daughters, Debra and Kathleen, who survive him. He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Dona Kay Morris, who passed away in November 2019. His parents and both his siblings, Joe and Jaytha Morris, also preceded him in death. Along with Kathleen and Debra, he is survived by Dona’s three children, Rebecca, Kevin, and Jennifer, as well as eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, numerous members of the extended family, and his faithful dog Spike.
Tony’s first jobs as a preteen and teen were pumping gas at his father’s service station and wrapping butter at the dairy in Decatur. He worked in electrical engineering in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the 1950s and 1960s and in the construction business in the 1970s. In 1977, he and Dona moved to DeQueen, Arkansas, where he built their home – as he said, “drove almost every nail in it” -- on 20 acres of woods. There he worked as a roofing contractor and drove a school bus, experimented with raising goats and rabbits, and became a successful gardener who learned to can fresh produce. He and Dona were active members of DeQueen Church of Christ for 37 years. He was an avid fisherman and played banjo, guitar, and dobro with a bluegrass band in DeQueen, dabbling as well in mandolin and fiddle music.
Tony will be remembered for his fierce independence and ready grin, his unshakable faith and loyalty to friends and family, and his endless supply of corny jokes and useful aphorisms.
Because of the covid-19 pandemic, no public funeral service can be held. Tony will be laid to rest beside Dona in a burial service privately conducted at the Redmen Cemetery.
Born July 6, 1935, in Decatur, Texas, to Bessie Evel Pruett Morris and Jesse Lee Morris, Tony grew up in north Texas and lived most of the first half of his life there. After two years at North Texas State University, he volunteered for the army and served stateside for two years during the Korean conflict. He was married to Dorothy Jamie Fowler from 1955 until her death in 1971; they had two daughters, Debra and Kathleen, who survive him. He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Dona Kay Morris, who passed away in November 2019. His parents and both his siblings, Joe and Jaytha Morris, also preceded him in death. Along with Kathleen and Debra, he is survived by Dona’s three children, Rebecca, Kevin, and Jennifer, as well as eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, numerous members of the extended family, and his faithful dog Spike.
Tony’s first jobs as a preteen and teen were pumping gas at his father’s service station and wrapping butter at the dairy in Decatur. He worked in electrical engineering in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the 1950s and 1960s and in the construction business in the 1970s. In 1977, he and Dona moved to DeQueen, Arkansas, where he built their home – as he said, “drove almost every nail in it” -- on 20 acres of woods. There he worked as a roofing contractor and drove a school bus, experimented with raising goats and rabbits, and became a successful gardener who learned to can fresh produce. He and Dona were active members of DeQueen Church of Christ for 37 years. He was an avid fisherman and played banjo, guitar, and dobro with a bluegrass band in DeQueen, dabbling as well in mandolin and fiddle music.
Tony will be remembered for his fierce independence and ready grin, his unshakable faith and loyalty to friends and family, and his endless supply of corny jokes and useful aphorisms.
Because of the covid-19 pandemic, no public funeral service can be held. Tony will be laid to rest beside Dona in a burial service privately conducted at the Redmen Cemetery.
Tony Morris, age 84, resident of Nacogdoches, Texas, passed from this life on Friday, April 3, 2020, at the Cecil R. Bomar Rehabilitation Center in Nacogdoches.
Born July 6, 1935, in Decatur, Texas, to Bessie Evel Pruett Morris and Jesse Lee Morris, Tony grew up in north Texas and lived most of the first half of his life there. After two years at North Texas State University, he volunteered for the army and served stateside for two years during the Korean conflict. He was married to Dorothy Jamie Fowler from 1955 until her death in 1971; they had two daughters, Debra and Kathleen, who survive him. He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Dona Kay Morris, who passed away in November 2019. His parents and both his siblings, Joe and Jaytha Morris, also preceded him in death. Along with Kathleen and Debra, he is survived by Dona’s three children, Rebecca, Kevin, and Jennifer, as well as eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, numerous members of the extended family, and his faithful dog Spike.
Tony’s first jobs as a preteen and teen were pumping gas at his father’s service station and wrapping butter at the dairy in Decatur. He worked in electrical engineering in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the 1950s and 1960s and in the construction business in the 1970s. In 1977, he and Dona moved to DeQueen, Arkansas, where he built their home – as he said, “drove almost every nail in it” -- on 20 acres of woods. There he worked as a roofing contractor and drove a school bus, experimented with raising goats and rabbits, and became a successful gardener who learned to can fresh produce. He and Dona were active members of DeQueen Church of Christ for 37 years. He was an avid fisherman and played banjo, guitar, and dobro with a bluegrass band in DeQueen, dabbling as well in mandolin and fiddle music.
Tony will be remembered for his fierce independence and ready grin, his unshakable faith and loyalty to friends and family, and his endless supply of corny jokes and useful aphorisms.
Because of the covid-19 pandemic, no public funeral service can be held. Tony will be laid to rest beside Dona in a burial service privately conducted at the Redmen Cemetery.
Born July 6, 1935, in Decatur, Texas, to Bessie Evel Pruett Morris and Jesse Lee Morris, Tony grew up in north Texas and lived most of the first half of his life there. After two years at North Texas State University, he volunteered for the army and served stateside for two years during the Korean conflict. He was married to Dorothy Jamie Fowler from 1955 until her death in 1971; they had two daughters, Debra and Kathleen, who survive him. He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Dona Kay Morris, who passed away in November 2019. His parents and both his siblings, Joe and Jaytha Morris, also preceded him in death. Along with Kathleen and Debra, he is survived by Dona’s three children, Rebecca, Kevin, and Jennifer, as well as eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, numerous members of the extended family, and his faithful dog Spike.
Tony’s first jobs as a preteen and teen were pumping gas at his father’s service station and wrapping butter at the dairy in Decatur. He worked in electrical engineering in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the 1950s and 1960s and in the construction business in the 1970s. In 1977, he and Dona moved to DeQueen, Arkansas, where he built their home – as he said, “drove almost every nail in it” -- on 20 acres of woods. There he worked as a roofing contractor and drove a school bus, experimented with raising goats and rabbits, and became a successful gardener who learned to can fresh produce. He and Dona were active members of DeQueen Church of Christ for 37 years. He was an avid fisherman and played banjo, guitar, and dobro with a bluegrass band in DeQueen, dabbling as well in mandolin and fiddle music.
Tony will be remembered for his fierce independence and ready grin, his unshakable faith and loyalty to friends and family, and his endless supply of corny jokes and useful aphorisms.
Because of the covid-19 pandemic, no public funeral service can be held. Tony will be laid to rest beside Dona in a burial service privately conducted at the Redmen Cemetery.
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