John Benjamin Morris

John Morris was born on December 7, 1924, on a farm in Benton County, Missouri. His family moved to Trenton, Missouri, in 1928, at the beginning of the Depression, and then to Sedalia, Missouri, in 1935. His father and uncle managed two nearby farms, and John and his brother Bill raised sheep. During high school, John worked part-time at a local flower shop and nursery. He was the oldest of five children.

Upon graduation from Smith Cotton High School in 1943, he entered the Army. During World War II, he was assigned to the 289th Combat Engineer Battalion at Weston-Super-Mare in England. His division built pontoon bridges and other structures for the Allied forces in Europe. He was discharged from the Army in 1946 and returned home to attend college.

He and Bill, who served in the Navy during WW II, and his sister Marilyn all graduated from the University of Missouri in 1950. John earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. However, since nearly every returning GI also graduated from college about that time, jobs were scarce. He first worked as a surveyor for the Great Lakes Pipeline Company in Kansas City. A year later, he found an engineering job at North American Aviation in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked until 1970.

John met his future wife, Betty (Polly) Pollard, while attending college. They were married in October 1952. The couple moved to Reynoldsburg, a suburb of Columbus, in 1955, where they started a family. John was active in Scouting while his three sons were growing up, including serving as the scoutmaster of a troop in Annandale, Virginia.

At North American (later merged with Rockwell), John and his group designed and tested ejection seats for jet aircraft. He also helped design the bench used for the Apollo space craft. In 1970, John was recruited by his old boss at North American to join the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington. He and his family moved to Annandale, where all three of his sons excelled in school. Later, all of them would attend the University of Virginia.

During his time at NHTSA, he published a number of research papers and received awards for his work. His research on air bags, seat belts and other passive restraint systems was instrumental in improving automobile safety. He was head of the Occupational Protection Division, Office of Crashworthiness Research, when he retired from NHTSA in 1989.

After his government service, he was in high demand as an industry consultant and was often called on to be an expert witness in automobile safety cases.

In his retirement years, he enjoyed woodworking and various home improvement projects. He especially liked building birdhouses and making toys for his grandchildren in his basement workshop. He and Polly traveled, gardened and volunteered at Annandale United Methodist Church. He and several other church members maintained the grounds of the church and its cemetery for many years.

John and Polly moved into the Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, Virginia, in 2009, where they were active in several clubs and organizations. John was an enthusiastic member of the Greenspring Walking Club. Even when he was well into his 90s, he would walk each day to get his mail and meals at Greenspring. He was also an avid sports fan and always followed the Nationals and his Mizzou Tigers.

He is survived by two sons, Jay Morris of Alexandria, Virginia, and Barry Morris (and wife Kathleen) of Wilmington, Delaware; three grandchildren, Patrick Morris (and wife Kelsey), son of Jay Morris, Elizabeth and Sara Morris, daughters of Barry and Kathleen Morris; and one great grandchild, John Morris, son of Patrick and Kelsey Morris. His wife Polly preceded him in death in March 2019. His son Craig Morris preceded him in death in August 2001.

A memorial service will be held October 27 at 11 a.m. at Annandale United Methodist Church, 6935 Columbia Pike, Annandale, Virginia, 22003. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the Annandale UMC Mission Center (https://annandalechurch.com/missions).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.demainefunerals.com for the Morris family.