Kenneth Dale Morris

Ken Morris was born in Fresno, California, to Duane and LaVerne Morris. This was only one of many homes he shared with his parents and older sister, Darlene, over the years of his dad’s Air Force career. Other stops along the way included Nebraska, Morocco, and Naples, Italy.

After wrapping up his high school years in Hueneme, California, he attended Pacific Christian College with the intention of becoming a flying missionary, having recently acquired his pilot’s license.

Those plans were waylaid by the Vietnam War. Instead, he married Sally, the love of his life, and joined the Air Force. After a tour in Vietnam, he eventually got into working with airplane simulators and made the Air Force his career. He and Sally lived in Florida, Illinois, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, adding children Becky, Paul, and Jonathan along the way. Also during this time, he finally earned his bachelor’s degree after seventeen years of night and correspondence classes accumulated here and there.

A new chapter unfolded as he took a job with Northrop to work on simulators, and the family moved to Southern California. With sixteen years of Air Force time served, he became a ‘weekend warrior’ and served in the Air Force Reserve for another eight years to secure retirement benefits.

His work situation made it necessary to move back to Phoenix the year his first grandchild was born. He continued his work with simulators, working for SIMCOM and America West Airlines until finally retiring.

Ken loved airplanes, trains, and boats, and learning what made them tick. He had a fun sense of humor, and enjoyed getting others (especially his daughter) to laugh. He had a great sense of storytelling when it came to delivering a joke. He loved watching movies, old and new. He grew up watching them with his dad, and always enjoyed a good story to share with us. He liked British things, from their sit-coms to Downton Abby. (He rented a color TV when Princess Diana got married.) But more than anything, Ken loved Jesus. Raised in the church, he gave his life to Christ and was baptized. He lived his life for Christ, loving his wife, serving in the church, making sure his children were raised to know the Lord, and always continuing to study the Bible.

He was able to enjoy watching his three grandchildren grow to adulthood and celebrate fifty-four years of marriage with his beloved wife.

After struggling for years with chronic arthritis pain, he succumbed to a battle with covid-pneumonia and entered the presence of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

He is survived by his wife, mother, sister, three children, and three grandchildren.