Thekla W. Morris

You would not expect a woman who lived with motion sickness to join the Navy, but the determination of Thekla “T” Willemenia Morris was not going to let anything slow her down. She received her RN at Georgia Baptist in 1944 and graduated from Holy Names in Oakland, CA, in 1951 - the same year she joined the Navy. Throughout her 27 years as a nurse in the Navy, she continued her studies at every station. She retired with the rank of Commander from Pensacola Naval Hospital in July of 1978, receiving so many accolades she could have saved money on wallpaper.

Miss T packed her life with insatiable curiosity which was revealed in her myriad of hobbies. Suiseki, bonsai, golf, calligraphy, painting, ceramics, wood working, numismatist, candle making, traveling, minerology, bird watching, national park enthusiast, square dancing and bowling to name some. She could mirror write the same sentence simultaneously with both hands. T was a regaling historian with a warm-hearted humor.

The Pensacola Camellia Club, The Pensacola Daylily Club, Fort Walton Beach Bonsai Society, Bonsai Kai (founder), the Pensacola chapter of the Navy Nurse Corps Association, and Japan-American Society of Northwest Florida, will find it impossible to fill the vacancy she leaves. T strived to attend every meeting and support every event. Her Navy Recruiter skills shined as she actively recruited members for local clubs, the American Camellia Society, Bonsai Societies of Florida, and Bonsai Clubs International (BCI editor 1983-1986).

T Morris went to eternity on January 22, 2021 at the age of 97. She is survived by her brother, Richard Morris of Lockhart, TX, multiple nieces and nephews and an innumerable number of people who loved her. She was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings. She will be interred at the family plot at Greenview Cemetery in Hopkins County, Texas. A horticulture scholarship is being set up at the University of Florida in lieu of flowers. Donations can be made out to The Pensacola Camellia Club Foundation, P.O. Box 707, Pensacola, FL 32591 and earmarked for the Thekla Morris Scholarship.