Richard was born in Tulsa, OK at Flower Hospital to Ralph Richard Morris and Dorothy Lysettia Mabel Crew Morris (Lysettia).
Dick spent grade school through high school in Tulsa OK and Iowa, graduating from Cambria in 1953 then got his undergraduate degree in Music at Simpson College in Indianola Iowa. He then went on to get his Masters Degree at Drake University. Go Bulldogs!
While still a student at Simpson he went to Truro, Iowa to fill in as a band director, taking the band to contest and receiving the highest rating given. He then moved to Prescott Iowa to be the band director. As luck would have it, he met the love of his life, Russine Ann Pottinger in Prescott. He started out as friends with Joel Pottinger and their summer 1962 adventures began to be a 3-some with the newly graduated Russine in the car with them. Joel tells us that he stared in the front seat with Dick but before the summer was over he was relegated to the back seat and Russine took her rightful place at Dicks right side in the front seat. On the 19th of August 1962 Dick and Russine were married just about 6 weeks after they first started dating!
They then took the path of family and brought their oldest child into the world, Ronda Le Morris on the 21st of June 1963. Then on January 28th of 1966 along comes Robert Wayne Morris and on the 25th of July Randall (Randy) Christopher Morris. This completed the 5 R’s. We have a song about this and if you catch Ronda and Rob in the right mood we might sing it for you. Don’t you worry, it is very short.
Dick and Russine have 5 grandchildren. Kayla Jo (Morris) Halverson married to Gabe Halverson, Rachel Ann Morris engaged to Kody Adair and Tara Kay Morris who along with Ryan Ottem are the proud parents of Colton Robert Ottem (1-year-old)- These three beautiful girls are the daughters of proud parents Robert Wayne Morris and Kimberly Kay (Lamb) Morris who married on 21 May 1988.
In addition to the girls Dick and Russine have 2 grandsons. Fletcher Hyeon Kyoo (18 years old) is graduating from Edison High School in Mpls and plans to attend the University of MN, Twin Cities in the fall. Mason Kun Woo Dunham (15 years old) is a sophomore at Edison High school in Minneapolis. These two awesome boys are the sons to Ronda Le (Morris) Dunham and Bradley Wayne Dunham, married on the 21st of September 1995.
Dick loved music and played in 2-4 different bands through most of the past decade or so. Music is truly one of his greatest loves. He played every instrument and taught all of them through his years as a band director. He also was the choir director for 24 years at West Des Moines Christian Church until he retired in that role. However, he never really retired in a choir director role and played that role at the United Methodist Church in Clear Lake Iowa where he and Russine lived for about 8 years until 2018. Dick also sang in Barber Shop Chorus and a few quartets including the Emerald Cut.
Another love of his was always golf. Dick had a membership at Willow Creek Golf course in WDM and played regularly. He learned from his dad Ralph Morris and taught his son Rob at the Corydon golf course where Ralph and Lysettia lived. Now, along with Rob, Dick’s grandson Fletcher carries on the golf legacy, playing on the high school team with some of his grandfather’s clubs. It is not only a man’s sport in the Morris family as Russine was his faithful golf partner for many years and Dick also taught his daughter Ronda how to swing a club and play the game.
Dick was a sports guy and watched golf (especially the hometown player Zach Johnson), the Chicago Cubs, the MN Vikings and Chicago Bears as well as all kinds of basketball (including college and professional) and baseball. The Sooners, Ok college football team was a favorite for him to follow and watch.
Of course, Dick loved to be active in the church. He was a man of faith from beginning to the end of his life on earth. We are so happy that he is at peace now with his heavenly father, his son Randy and his parents Ralph and Lysettia just to mention a few loved ones who have gone before him.
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