Chaplain, Lt. Colonel, Michael Joseph Morris

June 24, 1962 – October 23, 2016

Fr. Mike was born in Denver, Colorado on June 24, 1962 and grew up in Alabama; the second son of an Austrian immigrant and a World War II combat veteran. His parents were George and Maria Morris. He had two siblings, Harry Morris of Rockwall, Texas and a sister Ingrid Morris who preceded him in death. He has two nephews Chris Morris of Midlothian, Texas and Matthew Morris of Aspen, Colorado. He has 2 great nephews and a great niece. He graduated from the University of Alabama Birmingham with undergraduate degrees. He joined the Air Force in 1987 and served 12 years as an intelligence officer. In 1999 he was working at the Joint Intelligence Center at MacDill, Air Force Base in Florida when he got and received the call from God.

"I was the command chaplain and Mike was a rising star," recalled retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Cecil Richardson "One day he walked into my office and said, 'Chaplain Richardson, I'm not sure, but J think God has called me to be a priest.' Mike had a master's degree in Middle Eastern studies, he spoke three languages and he was the winner of countless awards. He was the top intel guy for the middle east and central command, and he wanted to get out. No doubt, it was going to take a miracle for Mike to get out of the Air Force - because he was so good at his job."

It didn't quite take a miracle, but with many prayers Fr. Mike out-processed on June 1, 1999. He was accepted and entered seminary in Florida and was ordained a priest in 2005. He served at Espiritu Santo parish in Safety Harbor, FL for three years. "I had felt that tug - that call - from God for some time to become a priest," Morris said. "Also, I had already been on active duty for more than 10 years and I saw the need for military chaplains. So I wed the two and God allowed it to happen." So; he rejoined the Air Force as a chaplain.

His first chaplain assignment was Ramstein Air Base, Germany as the Senior Catholic Chaplain. Fr. Mike often said the most memorable part of that assignment was his deployment to Kyrgyzstan. "It was a lot of real rubber meets road ministry," he said. "Getting a chance to share faith with those that didn't have

hope and who were worried about their deployment to Afghanistan during the surge - it was probably

the best six months of my life."

Fr. Mike's was later assigned to be executive officer to the Air Force Chief of Chaplains at the Pentagon. One year into the assignment Fr. Mike was diagnosed with cancer in March 2012. Following his assignment at the Pentagon, he went on to become the White House Military Office Deputy Chaplain for two years.

On June 28, 2016 Lt. Colonel Morris officially retired from the Air Force after more than 20 years. His love for God, his church and his Catholic faith never wavered during his long battle with cancer and indeed he often stated that his own journey to Calvary only strengthened his love for Christ who paid the ultimate price for us all.

Proverbs 3: 5 - 6"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."