Mr. John Warren Morris Jr.

Dick passed away on August 26, 2015 due to complications from heart failure. He was 96. He was born in Winter Park, Florida on January 8, 1919, and preceded in death by his parents: John Warren and Mary Frances Morris and 7 brothers and sisters. Dick was also preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Betty Beasley Morris of Charlotte, but is survived by many nieces and nephews.

He attended Rice University on a Tennis Scholarship where he won the Bob Quin Award for Most Outstanding Student-Athlete. Before graduating, Dick was a champion in the Southwest Conference and in the National Collegiate competitions. He was ranked #5 in the country before he joined the Air Corps as a pilot prior to Pearl Harbor, serving in Europe as a pilot of an A-20 Attack Bomber. His missions were low-level bombing, targeting tanks, artillery, trains and night-time fighter interdiction. For his bravery and success, he received the Air Medal and four Oak Leaf Clusters. Each medal represented ten missions and each cluster also represented ten missions. Dick truly had the “Right Stuff.”

Following the war, Dick attended Yale Law School and then went into the oil business in Charlotte, NC, with Charlotte Oil Co. and Columbus Oil Co.. He ultimately became the President of both companies. During his career, he was very active in the community and was a leader in the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club in Charlotte. Dick was an active Episcopalian with the Church of the Holy Comforter on Park Road. He held about every leadership position imaginable in his service there. He also founded the Charlotte Oil Jobbers Association to help that group of people develop their businesses. Dick started tennis programs at two new high schools in Charlotte. He was an avid golfer, being ranked in the top then golfers in the City. Dick was the oldest living member of Myers Park Country Club and also a former member of the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach.

We want to give special thanks to his faithful caretaker of many years, Jonelle Williams, also to his Yale Place neighbors who have been so wonderful to him over the past years. He will be missed at McAlisters Restaurant on Park Road where he loved to enjoy lunches with his many friends.

A visitation for Dick will be held at McEwen Funeral Service at Sharon Memorial Park on Monday, August 31, 2015 beginning at 12:00 pm. A funeral service celebrating Dick’s life will be held in the Chapel of McEwen Funeral Service on Monday at 1:00 pm with the Rev. Kevin S. Brown, Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter officiating. Entombment will follow in the Mausoleum at Sharon Memorial Park with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Manchester Sky Children’s Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3), supporting families and children with life threatening illnesses: 2108 South Boulevard; Unit 115; Charlotte NC 28203 or to the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter; 2701 Park Rd, Charlotte, NC 28209.

McEwen Funeral Service at Sharon Memorial Park is entrusted with the care of Mr. Morris and his family.