Roger "Larry" Laurence Morse

Roger Laurence "Larry" Morse was born May 26, 1926 in Medford, Massachusetts, to Edward L. and Hazel F. Morse. Preceding him in death were his parents, brother Robert, brother Donald, sister Nancy and wife Maxine. He passed on March 28, from a brief battle with MRSA after a lengthy recovery from open heart surgery. After graduating high school, he joined the Navy on June 28, 1944 and attended the Naval Engineering School in Gulfport, Mississippi. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Mine Warfare Test Station at Soloman Islands, Maryland where he served in the Explosives Test Division. He was later assigned to the USS Ideal Coastal Minesweeper. He completed his active duty and was honorably discharged on July 4, 1946, but remained a Naval reservist until 1954. On the advice of a fellow shipmate who touted their Engineering School, he traveled across the country by train to attend Oklahoma A & M College. It was there that he met his lifelong love and wife of 57 years, Maxine Nora Nale. They were married in Stillwater on May 13, 1950. After graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he moved to Oklahoma City and held a few jobs before obtaining a position with the Ford Motor Company. He worked in many areas at Ford, but especially loved the position of Southwest District Service Director because it allowed him to travel through many states and meet with all the Ford dealers. He retired with Ford in 1976. He then attended OCU and received a Masters Degree in Education and taught automotive technology at a Vo-Tech for a couple of years. He later returned to his Ford roots by becoming the Service Manager at Jackie Cooper Lincoln Mercury. After a few years there, he returned to his love of Ford dealers by transporting cars between dealers all over the country. He would fly one way and drive the other to deliver cars and catch-up with his friends at Ford dealerships. He gave up transporting in 2006 when his wife became unable to be alone as she struggled with Alzheimer's Disease and passed in 2007. He loved anything mechanical and had numerous interests in construction, tools, guns, automobiles and all history, especially Civil War, Revolutionary and Naval history. He and Maxine were lifelong members of the Methodist Church, attending Crown Heights Methodist before moving in 1977 and attending Grace Methodist until his passing. He is survived by his son, Keith, daughter-in-law Sherry, grandchildren Kyle, Daniel, Callie, Matt and Aaron. His younger sister, Janet, and her husband Donald, live in St. Petersburg, Florida. Services will be held Tuesday, April 2, at Grace United Methodist Church, 1:00, with visitation at Hahn-Cook Funeral Home at 65th & Broadway Extension on Sunday and Monday. Military graveside burial will be held at Resurrection Cemetery, 7801 NW Expressway. He was a kind, thoughtful, generous man and made a friend of anyone he met. He will be loved and forever missed by all who knew him