Marvin Vance Morris

Marvin was born November 7, 1936 in Coss Bay, Oregon to Arthur and Geneta Alsup Morris. He joined his older brother Donald and later his younger brother Steve joined the family.

Marvin graduated from high school in 1954. He joined the National Guard during his senior year in high school and in 1954 Marvin joined the United States Air Force. He was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi and finally Ellington Air Force base in Houston where he remained for the next two years.

It was while he was at Ellington, that he met his future wife Loisdelle (Lois) Conroy. They had their first date on October 19, 1955 and married on September 8, 1957. They celebrated 64th anniversary this past September.

They have two children, Cheri Morris Cooper (Robert) and Richard Allen Morris (Rebecca). They have four grandchildren, Kristen Cooper Getty (Alex) and great grandson Hudson Getty. Kimberly Cooper Murasco (Austin) and great grandson Skyler Marusco. Granddaughter Amy Cooper and grandson Jacob Morris.

After his discharge from the Air Force, Marvin attended the University of Houston at night while working for Texas Instruments during the day. During his time at Texas Instruments he was named on the patent of the First Hand Held Calculator.

Marvin started his own business Morris Enterprise in the late sixties. Marvin was the inventor of the Micro Edge Focuser used by the Takahasa Telescope Company.

Marvin joined the Houston Power Squadron in 1971 reaching his 50th year of membership in 2021. The Power Squadron is dedicated to making boating safer and more enjoyable through education. They teach Public Boating Safety courses, and on the water training. One of the charges of the Power Squadron is the recovery of geodetic benchmarks and supplying that information to NOAA. They also supply information to NOAA's Marine Chart Division on the condition of markers in the water, leading to correction to nautical charts and small craft charts. As a result of Marvin locating over a thousand benchmarks through many years, NOAA flew Marvin to Alaska where he spent two weeks on a NOAA research vessel. Marvin always said that this was one of the highlights of his career in the Power Squadron.

Marvin became Commander of the Houston Power Squadron in 1971, winning many awards as commander. He was editor of the Power Squadron newsletter for many years and won numerous awards.

Marvin was also a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus.

His parents Art and Geneta Morris preceded Marvin. He is survived by his wife Lois, his daughter Cher Cooper (Robert) of Centreville, Virginia, his son Richard Morris (Rebecca) of Katy, Texas, his granddaughters Kristen Getty (Alex) of Broadlands, Virginia, Kimberly Marusco (Austin) of San Francisco, California, and Amy Cooper of Arlington, Virginia. His grandson Jacob Morris of Katy, Texas, great grandsons Hudson Getty and Skyler Marusco. He is also survived by his brothers Donald Morris of Beaverton, Oregon and Steve Morris (Corky) of Arizona.

Marvin will be laid to rest on Thursday, December 9th, 2021, his duty nobly done, his pilgrimage faithfully performed.

In remembrance of Marvin the family asks that all donations go to the American Heart Association.