David Morrill

David was born in New York City on March 25, 1940, to Carroll Elliott Morrill and Mary Theresa Krumscheid. David spent his early years in the care of various relatives and at “Ma” Smith’s boarding home in Tewksbury, MA. In 1945, to prevent him from becoming a ward of the state, his paternal grandparents Phillip Roy Morrill and Florence Gertrude (Butman) Morrill of Beverly, MA, took him in. It was there in the house on Washington Street, a former servant’s quarters with no electricity, that he lived with his Uncle Ralph McMann, Aunt Irma (Morrill) McMann, and cousins Pamela and Carole. The Morrills, then in their 60s, had already raised nine children by the time David came along. But he was their feistiest charge.

As an elementary school prankster on permanent detention, David earned As in academics and unsatisfactory Us in behavior. He often cut class to enjoy cool cars, rock n roll, and the joys of the 1950s. In 9th grade, as the YMCA’s notorious “Scissors Morrill” wrestling champion, he landed at the Beverly High School Trade School in Industrial Art. Encouragement from various truant officers, study hall monitors, and instructors led him to dream bigger. After graduating in 1958, he got a job at Wilkscraft Printing Company, bought a Ford Fairlane convertible, and started night classes at Boston University.

David was drafted in 1961, and stationed for three years at Fort Belvoir, Washington, D.C. He was proud to have been there in 1963, during the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The next year, he married his hometown sweetheart Katharine Hale Goss, and the two loaded up their VW bus and moved to Minnesota, where he earned a BA in Industrial Education from Moorhead State Teachers College, lettering in tennis. He continued with an MA at Western Washington State University, a doctorate from Texas A&M, and welcomed his “#1 son,” David Philip in 1969. The “trade school boy” had become a college professor.

David came to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, ME, as the first full-time instructor in Graphic Arts and later Education, where he loved “teaching teachers how to teach.” A notoriously tough grader, his class was still the fun one, and many students became lifelong friends. He took care to shepherd the toughest cases, seeing himself in them.

He welcomed his “#1 daughter,” Lorra Jane, in 1971, and youngest child, Hannah Leigh, with his second wife, Mary Keefe, in 1983.

At USM, David leaned into the “out-by-noon” lifestyle. At lunch, he’d play pickup basketball with his buddies as the self-appointed captain, referee, and three-point shooter, before scooting out punctually to be home for his kids after school. He coached every team he could, never missing a practice, game, or opportunity to give feedback (welcome or not). An expressive community member, he served on the Gorham School Board, championing early technology classes and advocating for the town’s first high school girls’ soccer team. His vocal stylings were equally impactful on the sidelines of any sports game he attended.

Throughout his life, David felt immense gratitude for the Beverly community that raised him, from Nana Morrill’s tough love to Grampy Morrill’s humble work ethic, Uncle Ralph’s reliability, and Uncle Roger’s kindness. During childhood, his maternal godmother and great aunt, Josephine DiCarlo, sent occasional presents and funds. In 1996, as a solace to David, the two reconnected, answering many unknowns from his early years.

David retired as a Professor Emeritus in 1999 to enjoy the snowbird life. For three seasons in Maine, he gardened, putted around Raymond Pond on the “Pink Lady” with his grandchildren, and led the annual loon count. Come winter, he'd book it to Florida — stopping in Beverly for a steak bomb along the way — and hit the YMCA daily for tennis, pickleball, yoga, and swimming. He loved live music, dancing, special ladies, antiquing, real talk, and questionable Rube Goldberg projects. In his final years, he moved back to Maine full time, befriending every nurse, maintenance person, receptionist and social worker at 75 State Street.

David’s proudest accomplishments were his children and grandchildren, who he is survived by:

David Morrill and his partner Shannon Huckaby and son Jude, Lorra Morrill Brown and her husband Steven and their daughters Claudia and Delaney, and Hannah Morrill and her partner James Cole and their children Eliot and Hollis. He is also survived by his cousin who he considered his sister, Carole Emily Roy, half-sisters Cammy Curtis and Becky Morrill, and many ex-wives, girlfriends, running buddies, and “written-off” friends from every stage of his life.

His family wishes to thank the community at 75 State Street for their graceful care and appreciation of David Morrill, a true original.

A celebration of David’s life will be held spring/summer 2026 in Beverly, Massachusetts.

The family suggests contributions to your local YMCA or the University of Southern Maine Foundation.

Arrangements are entrusted to Advantage Funeral Services, Portland, Maine.