Eileen Ann Sullivan Morris

Eileen Ann Sullivan Morris, a faithful Jersey girl for more than 87 years, passed away peacefully on April 9, 2026 after a brief illness, with the music of Bobby Darin and the love and comfort of family by her side.

For most of the past decade, Eileen resided at Hill House, in Riverside, CT, where she was an active member of the senior community and made many wonderful friends. She loved the daily lunches there, lingering over coffee and dessert for conversations about all the latest news and gossip. She was a regular at painting and other crafting classes and enjoyed many laugh-filled evenings playing “Left, Right, Center.” She liked it best when she came away a winner!

Charity work and helping others were lifelong missions, and her time in Greenwich was no different: she counseled middle and high school students, organized gift drives for needy families during the holidays, and did weekly food collections and deliveries to hungry kids for Food Rescue.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey on March 7, 1939, the daughter of Catherine and Francis Sullivan, Eileen was the baby of the family, with two older siblings, William (Bill) and Catherine (Doris) – both of whom predeceased her.

After attending Henry Snyder High School in Jersey City, she went on to work at Western Electric, where she eventually met the love of her life, a jovial and fun-loving accountant named Raymond Morris. Their first date was a drive-in movie, and they were married on February 16, 1963 – Ray’s birthday! -- which made it very easy to remember their anniversary.

Family was everything for Eileen. She and Ray raised three wonderful children, Donna (Bass), Scott and Glenn, as they moved from Jersey City to the suburbs of Buffalo (weathering the blizzard of ’77), and then to Westerville, Ohio, spending much of their time applauding Donna’s musicals and cheering on Scott and Glenn at their hockey games. After Donna left for college back in New York, Eileen and Ray returned to New Jersey, and later settled in the Poconos, outside Milford, Pennsylvania, where they opened and operated a series of gift shops.

Eileen had an incredible eye for what people were looking for, and she was one of the first to recognize that Beanie Babies were going to be a big thing. People came from far and wide to her beautiful little shop, The Country Goose, to seek out the newest and hottest Beanies. She also had great taste in furniture and décor, and, most of all, loved chatting up people who came by the shop to browse and buy.

Unfortunately, Eileen lost her beloved Ray way too early, in 1998. Still, she continued to run the shop in Pennsylvania on her own for many years, before deciding to sell it and move back to New Jersey, to the town of Barnegat, where she enjoyed being close to family and wonderful lifelong friends like Elaine Darling. After fixing up and selling her Barnegat home, she moved to Connecticut, again to be closer to family.

Eileen was extremely proud of her five grandchildren: Sam, Emily and Jake Bass, Connor Morris and Shea Morris. “Nana” regularly attended their soccer, lacrosse and water polo games, and was also in the audience at plays and musicals and concerts. She also loved her New Jersey nieces and nephews like they were her own children -- the Forresters and their families always had the most special place in Eileen’s heart.

She often said: “How lucky are we to have such an incredible family; everyone is doing such amazing things.”

Known for her classic one-liners at family gatherings, some intentional, others not so much, Eileen was both surprised and pleased when she learned her granddaughter, Emily, had created an Instagram account called “Sh*t My Nana Says” that became quite the sensation. Among the most talked about (and family safe!) quotes:

“I’m gonna start having bake sales. Not for charity — just for myself. No one ever questions an old lady.”

“Thursday, Friday... I don’t care when we have Thanksgiving. I’m not a Pilgrim.”

“I’m coming back as J-Lo. Short skirts and high boots.”

She had a lifelong love affair with the Jersey Shore, visiting there several times a year, including annually on the Fourth of July. Holding court on a beautiful Jersey beach with family and friends and then taking a long stroll on a loud and bustling Jersey boardwalk was definitely Eileen’s idea of a perfect day. Even when she was forced into a wheelchair, the boardwalk was a must do, including a mandatory stop at Kohr’s for frozen custard.

Her other passions included: cheeseburgers, movies, Broadway musicals, all things Irish, her iPad, a good cup of coffee, Netflix, the New York Post, pepperoni pizza, politics, painting, dogs (most especially her beloved Belle), cardinals, bald eagles, Jersey tomatoes, hot chocolate, chocolate cake, every other kind of cake, books, bingo, the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo wings, decorating for the holidays, shopping (and later returning pretty much everything), Sunday drives and eating out at the diner, any diner!

She relished occasional trips with Donna and her nieces and nephew to casinos in Connecticut and New Jersey. Roulette was her game, and she faithfully played the family birthdays on every spin of the wheel, convinced they would win every time. She also dabbled in blackjack and slots, and was known to buy a Powerball ticket or two.

Beyond the Shore and the roulette table, she was lucky enough to travel to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, attending many exciting events at each. She also went on two family trips to Ireland, exploring her roots and the beautiful countryside – and taking a hilarious Morris family photo at the Cliffs of Moher with a donkey and a cigarette-smoking dog, which became their Christmas card. She enjoyed multiple cruises, including a bucket-list adventure to Alaska in 2017, where she cuddled dog-sled puppies, marveled at the glaciers, and saw her first moose.

But at the end of the day, after all the traveling, after all the trips to the mall, after all the many places she lived and worked, for Eileen Ann Sullivan Morris, Jersey was always home.

Funeral mass will take place at 11 AM on Saturday, April 18 at St Catherine of Siena located at 4 Riverside Ave, Riverside, CT 06878.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Eileen’s memory to Food Rescue of Fairfield County (https://foodrescue.us/fairfield-county/).