She was predeceased by her husband, Professor Norval R. Morris, in 2004, and her brother, Dr. Geoffrey Richardson, of Melbourne, Australia, in 1996.
Mrs. Morris was born Elaine Richardson in 1923 in Melbourne to Dr. Lou Richardson and Ruth Pearl Richardson. She married Norval in 1947, in Melbourne, just prior to the couple’s moving to London for her husband’s beginning a doctoral program in law and criminology at the London School of Economics. They returned to Australia and together began a lifetime of living on four continents, following Prof. Morris’s various law school appointments, and other professional assignments in multiple cities, including Stockholm and Tokyo, where the family lived for two years. The family moved to Chicago in 1964 following Prof. Morris’s appointment to the University of Chicago Law School. The couple continued to travel around the world, regularly and enthusiastically, throughout the rest of their married life. For the past 12 years, Mrs. Morris spent each February in Palm Springs, Calif., hosting a flow of visiting children and grandchildren.
Mrs. Morris took genuine pride in raising three sons through all these moves, and exploring with them the art and cultures of where the family lived. Her collections from 75 years of travel are a vivid record of the family’s adventures. Her myriad other interests included a lifetime’s love of tennis, both playing and avidly following professional competitions, gardening, bird watching, and painting, in both oil and water-colors. In addition, Mrs. Morris was a great hostess, for the many colleagues, students, family, and friends who entered the couple’s life. Mrs. Morris had a bright and active intellect and wide-ranging interests. She also was philanthropically active, and was enthusiastically interested in issues of child literacy, abortion rights, protection of wild life, and supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, Mrs. Morris was an avid reader throughout her life, and shared her love of literature with children at Comer Children’s Hospital, bringing books and video games to young patients for several decades.
Mrs. Morris is survived by her three sons: Gareth Morris (the late Elizabeth Cohn Morris), Chicago; Malcolm D. Morris (Scott Harms Rose), Chicago; and Christopher H. Morris, Valparaiso, Ind. She is also survived by three grandchildren: Gregory H. Morris (Elizabeth Ferrari Morris), Chicago; Emily R. Morris (John Winterkorn), Brooklyn, NY; and Madelyn A. Morris (Daniel Goldberg), Chicago; and four great-grandchildren: Margaret S. Morris, James T. Morris, Brahm M. Goldberg, and Theodore A. Winterkorn. She also is survived by a nephew, Brett Richardson, and a niece, Nicole Wilson, both of Melbourne.
At Mrs. Morris’s request, there will be no service. Donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders.
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