Mary Frances Morse

Mary Frances Morse, born on the 24th of February 1921, in San Antonio, Texas, to Frances and Alleyne Dunnam, passed away in Houston, on Friday, the 2nd of August 2013, surrounded by her family. She was 92.

A resident of Houston since 1925, she graduated from San Jacinto High School in 1938, where she played the drums in the band. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University (what was then Rice Institute) in 1942 where she was a Chapman Bryan Memorial Scholar, elected to the Honor Council twice, served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Girls’ Club and Treasurer of P.A.L.S. (Pallas Athene Literary Society), listed on the Honor Roll twice, and worked on the Campanile yearbook. She then became a teacher in the Houston schools, a homemaker, and a community volunteer.

Mary Frances was a past director of Holly Hall and a member of River Oaks Garden Club, the Forest Club, National Society Magna Charta Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution, and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Clinton F. Morse; her sister, Betty L. Dunnam, of Stout, Ohio; son, Clinton S. Morse and wife Vivian, of Roanoke, Virginia; and daughters, Allison A. Ryder and husband Dan, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and Sara M. Bettencourt and husband Mark, of Houston; six grandchildren; and six great grandchildren.

A memorial service, and celebration of her life, is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the 10th of August, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston, where Dr. Linda Christians, Executive Pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, is to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.

Prior to the memorial service, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the Mary Frances Dunnam Morse Graduate Fellowship in Biosciences and Bioengineering, Rice University, P. O. Box 1892, Houston, TX, 77251-1892; or to a charity of one’s choice.