John Paul Morrison

John Paul Morrison passed away on February 3, 2021, at Kobacker House in Columbus, Ohio, from effects of cerebral palsy. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, on September 16, 1954, he was named for the American Revolutionary War naval commander John Paul Jones. John lived in Norfolk and in Charlotte, North Carolina, before his family moved to Columbus in 1965. He and his parents were members of Overbrook Presbyterian Church.

John was mentally retarded in association with cerebral palsy. He graduated from North High School in Columbus in 1973, after which he worked in an ARCraft sheltered workshop for a time.

John enjoyed watching and listening to many types of entertainment: the Ohio State Buckeyes, TV cartoon shows, Pokémon and Spider Man, music (rock and roll, country, music therapy), anything Disney, Star Trek, and Star Wars. He read the Bible and books about Japan and the medieval period in Europe. For a long time he went to movies every Friday after a McDonald's lunch with his father and later with his caregiver. John taught his family patience, faith, hope, and service.

John had a special relationship with his father. Both of them had a sense of humor. They took the nicknames "Mr. Peabody" and "Sherman" after the characters on the "Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" TV show. John enjoyed our annual family reunions in Marion, Indiana, with his cousin William Morrison, whom he fondly called "Jeeves" after the butler character created by British author P. G. Wodehouse. John started calling Bill "Jeeves" when Bill visited Columbus and helped Dad and Mom with John.

John is predeceased by his mother and father, Mildred Clum Morrison and Francis G. Morrison, and his brother, Richard G. Morrison. He is survived by his sisters and their husbands, Carol and Peter de Poutiloff of Janesville, Wisconsin, and Jane and Stanley Krauhs of Magnolia, Texas; his nephew, Samuel R. de Poutiloff of Milwaukee, WI; and his cousin, William F. Morrison, and his wife Hanné of West Palm Beach, Florida.

John's family offers special thanks to his compassionate caregivers: Magdalena Henriquez and many other staff members with Benchmark Human Services in Dublin, Ohio, and AWS. We are also very grateful to Robert Dunn, John's legal guardian, and to staff members with the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Remembrances may be left at www.schoedinger.com. Memorial gifts may be made to Cerebral Palsy Foundation, 3 Columbus Circle, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Funeral arrangements entrusted to SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST.