Robert was born May 10th, 1949 in Dallas to Billy and Doris Sue Morris. They lived in Garland, Texas, where Robert showed his independence, work ethic, and appreciation for fast cars while still in high school. Robert worked his way through college at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of North Texas, and received his MSSW in social work at University of Texas in Austin.
A hippie in his youth, his lifelong mission was to make things better for those denied a voice. He began his career as a special education teacher for violent, underprivileged kids in Austin; throughout his life he remembered his students with affection and respect, despite them breaking his ribs two years in a row. He remained an Austinite the rest of his days, supporting small music clubs, Wheatsville Co-op and the city he called home.
His passion for improving the lives of his fellow Texans led him to work for the State of Texas for the remainder of his remarkable career. After beginning with the Legislative Budget Board and Sunset Commission, he served Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, managing, among myriad other things, medical school budgets throughout the state. Robert was Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Agriculture and the Attorney General’s Office, and was an executive at the Health and Human Services Commission. He amended the state constitution, he wrote laws, he wielded the levers of Texas’s government with an unparalleled skill. Some of his co-workers affectionately (and only semi-jokingly) called him “God” for the miracles his limitless creativity, entrepreneurial skills, and brilliant insights created to support less fortunate Texans.
Robert and his wife Kathryn Kotrla MD were reunited in 2004 and married in 2005. Robert said, they were “just the same person”. They forged a profound professional and personal partnership, working to shape Texas’ policy supporting veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and their shared mission was to create magic for others. Robert described their relationship the best: “I always knew you were out there in my soul, and I found you”. Their love was palpable, powerful, and inspirational. After Robert retired, they were inseparable, working to “Bring Heaven Down Here”.
Robert was kind, caring and loving to his children and Kathryn’s both, as well as his and Kathryn’s many dogs over the years. Whether playing spades, listening to blues, or working up a sweat on his latest project while wearing his trademark coveralls, he found joy in life and he shared that joy with his family, friends and so many others. Austin, and the world, is poorer for his loss and will miss his spirit, his kind heart, his soaring humor and his easy laugh.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.6