John Martin Morris Ph.D.

East Lansing

John M. Morris of East Lansing passed away quietly on November 4, 2014, after a long illness. He was born January 28, 1928 in Helena, MT. His parents, Bob and Fritz, moved to Detroit in 1929. He and his two sisters grew up in the metro area. When at University of Michigan in 1950, he met and married Phyllis Sutton of Washington, DC.

John was a Unitarian minister, a philosophy professor, and a computer analyst. He moved from Michigan to California, to Illinois, to Colorado, and then upstate New York, before returning to Michigan. He shared with children Bill and Katherine, his love of nature, words (from dreadful puns to Shakespeare) and jogging. And when words and legs began to fail, his eyes still sparkled at the sound of birds, the color of flowers, and the cacophony of a thunderstorm.

Phyllis passed away in 1997. Sister Helen Cartwright also predeceased him, and sister Nancy McFadden lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Daughter Katherine lives in Woodstock, England. Son Bill and his wife Sue live in of East Lansing. His granddaughters, Abby (San Francisco) and Emma (Chicago) carry on his love of nature and words in their adopted cities.

No service is planned now. Instead, as John wished, the family will gather in the spring at a favorite park to celebrate his life.

Those desiring may donate in John's memory to Burcham Hills Foundation 2200 Burcham Drive, East Lansing, MI 48823; Hospice House of Mid-Michigan, 1210 W. Saginaw, Lansing, MI 48915; or, the Nature Conservancy of Lansing, 101 E. Grand River, Lansing, MI 48906.

The family is being served by the Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing. On-line condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.