Eric Day Morris

Eric “Uptown Willie Earl” Day Morris passed away peacefully on May 10th in the serenity of his home surrounded by family, friends, laughter, and of course music. He was preceded in death by his parents, Billie Marie Jones Morris and David Bevins Morris, and is survived by his wife Julie Morris, his children Sarah “Sarah Sarah Sweet Knees” Haines, Tyler “T-rex” Morris. Samuel “Sam Bam” Morris, Logan Morris, Ryan Collins (wife Kim), and Kyle Collins, grandchildren Emma “Porkchop,” Ellie “Ellie Belly,” Gavin “Gavinator”, Charlie, and his siblings Jeff Morris (wife Karen), Becky Bolen, Mike Morris (wife Beverly), and Melani Jolly (husband Brian).

Eric was born in Kimble, Nebraska on September 17th, 1955, as the 4th of 5 children. He moved with his family to several locations throughout the country that he barely remembered and neither do we. Eventually settling in Lancaster, Texas, Eric joined the Coast Guard at an early age where he excelled as an electrician, a trade he elected to pursue after learning that being the fastest man on a buoy tender was more dangerous than admirable. He was honorably discharged after serving 4 years. His time in the service was a source of pride for him throughout his life.

Eric settled in east Texas working for Wang Laboratories as a computer repair technician, a position that fueled his future business endeavors in computer programming and software development. He started the computer software company, Anasazi Software, with his brother Mike, and eventually were joined by their sister Melani. The company was incredibly successful, a feat accomplished by the siblings’ impressive focus, dedication, skills, and intellects.

After more than 20 years as the CEO and co-founder of Anasazi Software, Eric attempted to settle into retirement but was thrown down a completely different (and infinitely better) path when he met his forever partner and love of his life , Julie Rundle. For the next 15 years, Eric and Julie built a truly amazing life together, embracing each other’s families and creating a space where everybody felt at home. They spent their time travelling the country, always returning with new stories to regale family and friends with at their legendary gatherings.

Eric approached the world with a spirit of passion and discovery. His curiosity and astounding intellect led him to explore and perfect countless skills requiring exceptional creativity, talent, and dedication. While his gifts are blatantly seen in the stunning woodworking pieces he created, the true beauty of those pieces lies in the fact that each one was crafted for a person he cared for immensely and was gifted freely in the spirit of love and family.

Eric dedicated his life to discovering the world and all it has to offer. His smile and unmistakable laugh brightened up every room. As a Brown Berret and proud card-carrying member of the Nacogdoches chapter of the Idiot’s Club, his wit and sense of humor will never be forgotten. We would be remiss to leave out Eric’s love for fishing, a passion he engaged in frequently with a skillset that nearly rivaled his daughter’s.

Eric’s entire life was an adventure we were blessed to join him on, despite his often questionable or mildly dangerous antics. He will be greeted at the pearly gates by his beloved pets Augie “The Dahli Augie” Doggy, Tarzan the Rooster, Biggins the Chicken, Lumpy the Turtle (tortoise), and countless other animals he liked well enough but definitely cared for. Eric will be missed immensely and will be forever remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, and by all accounts, a Master Woodworker.