Angela Claire Morris

Angela Claire Heines Morris was born on June 8, 1959, the fourth child of Tony and Anita Heines, then residing in Memphis, Tennessee. From an early age, Angela was a high-spirited, athletic, and highly competitive child who excelled in every endeavor. At the age of 12 her family relocated to Columbus, Texas and Angela graduated from Columbus High School in 1977. He then attended Wharton County Junior College on a tennis scholarship before transferring to and matriculating from Sam Houston State University where she obtained a degree in Secondary Education. At both institutions, she was on the Dean’s list and the National Honor Society and the Golden Key National Honor Society. Later in life, she received a Master of Science in Education with a 4.0 GPA. It was in Huntsville, that she met Tommy Morris whom she would marry in 1981. Soon after marriage, the two migrated to Dallas where they began to build their lives through several ventures including a Tinsley’s Fried Chicken franchise, a brief stint telling new homes in the Plano Los Rios area, and with substitute and summer school teaching for PISD. After the birth of her first child, Christopher, Angela’s primary role was that of mother. With Christopher and later with her daughter Kelly and youngest son Tony, Angela was known as a mother who would support all of her children’s activities, coach all of their teams, and help with all of their volunteer activities. During this time, she was also an avid tennis player and shared her Catholic faith as a Faith Formation teacher at St. Joseph in Richardson and St. Mark Church in Plano. For a time she returned to the workforce as was a Transition Curriculum Specialist for the Plano Independent School District where she developed a great dedication to the service of children with special needs. After some health issues in recent years, including a bout with cancer, she worked for a time for Nebraska Furniture Mart and Home Depot. In 2016, however, she returned to her career as an educator and worked as a nanny and tutor for children and adults with special needs, especially those who had been diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Angela was an avid reader, sometimes reading three books a week. She loved dogs and was saddened by the loss of her dear friend Neo last year. Taking after her father, she had a green thumb and spend hours planting and tending her flowers and plants in her meticulously kept gardens. She loved to watch cooking shows and had great plans to make fancy gourmet meals for her loved ones. Angela was fond of asking for the help of God’s angels in heaven and almost every wall of her home had a depiction of one or another of these messengers of God. May those angels of God lead her into paradise and may she be greeted by her beloved family members who predeceased her, her parents Tony and Anita Heines, and two of her brothers, Andy and Jimmy Heines. She is survived by her children, Christopher Morris of Greenville; Kelly Morris of Plano; SGT Tony Morris stationed at Molesworth, England; sister Elisa Liss of Oregon; and Timothy Heines, of Allen; and her sister-in-law Vivienne Heines and her children, Zachary, Aaron, and Tessa of Corpus Christi. A public memorial Mass for the Repose of her Soul will be celebrated on Monday, January 9 at 10:30 AM at St. Joseph Church in Richardson, Texas.