Roy Douglas Morris, 89, of Martinsville, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, in his home with his family by his side. He was born March 9, 1935, in Preston, Virginia to the late Walter Roy Morris and Virginia Katherine Tatum Morris, and grew up in Horsepasture, Virginia. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Doris Jean Morris Pearman and a sister-in-law, Purnell Mills Morris.
He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Janet Morton Morris of the home; daughter, Susan Morris Culbertson of Roanoke, Virginia; son, Steven Douglas “Steve” Morris (Rita) of Ridgeway, Virginia; three grandsons, Bradley A. Morris (Sara) of Martinsville, Virginia, Stuart P. Culbertson of Westfield, Indiana, and Jason L. Morris (Taylor) of Ridgeway, Virginia; and three great-grandchildren, Sadie, Easton, and Braxton; his sister, Jane Morris Smith (Francis), his brother, J. Raymond Morris, Sr., and brother-in-law, W. W. “Bill” Pearman (Jean).
Doug graduated from Spencer Penn High School, Class of 1952, the last year that the school was a high school. He attended Bluefield College and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech). He served in the Army National Guard for 6 years and retired from Appalachian Power Company as a line supervisor with 42 years of experience.
Doug was a long-time member of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, Martinsville, where he served as a trustee, and later a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Horsepasture, where he served as a deacon. Doug and Janet enjoyed participating in Lay Witness Missions in the 1970s. He and Janet spent many days visiting church members, neighbors, and friends in the hospitals and nursing homes.
He was an accomplished trout fisherman who thoroughly enjoyed the many hours that he spent fishing the streams and rivers locally, the Atlantic at the Outer Banks, and even some lakes in Canada. He was a great outdoorsman who also enjoyed bird hunting with his dog Smokey. Doug loved traveling, gardening, bowling, and watching baseball and Virginia Tech football. Doug‘s favorite music was bluegrass – especially on the second Friday nights at the Spencer Penn Centre or on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings at local restaurants. Doug was a Boy Scout as a youth. He could have been an Eagle Scout, but he completed all of the requirements with his older brother and his friends before Doug was old enough to be a Scout.
The funeral will be held on Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 1 p.m. at Collins-McKee-Stone Funeral Home, Martinsville, Virginia. Visitation will be held the same day from 12:00 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Roselawn Burial Park, in Martinsville. The service will be conducted by the Reverends Doug Ramsey and Randy Aldridge. Pallbearers will be Ronnie McGhee, Roger Beasley, Brad Morris, Jason Morris, Gene Stowe, and Ralph Morris.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bluefield University (https://www.bluefield.edu/giving/), the Spencer Penn Centre (https://thecentreatspencerpenn.com/support/donate/), The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (https://give.michaeljfox.org/give/421686/#!/donation/checkout), God’s Pit Crew, Danville, Virginia (https://godspitcrew.org/donate/), or the charity of your choice.
