Robert Smith Morris was born the 3rd child of John and Helen Morris in Shawnee, Oklahoma, on August 28, 1950. He was born in Shawnee City Hospital. He passed away on September 5, 2022, at Baptist Hospital in Oklahoma City, surrounded by his loving wife, Emily, and other members of the family that he loved so much.
Bob attended Horace Mann Elementary School in 1st-7th grades. His favorite teacher was Mrs. Wilson, who taught not only him, but his mother and all three siblings. He attended Shawnee Jr. High in 8th and 9th grade and Shawnee High School in 10th-12th grades.
Bob attended Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) and Barstow College (California).
In October 1970, he joined the US Army, where he secured a job in the US Army Security Agency (ASA) as a radio traffic analyst. He served in Vietnam until July 1972, when he returned to the US to continue his Army service with the 375th ASA Company at Fort Hood, Texas, doing field maneuvers with portable warfare units.
Robert was honorably discharged from military service on October 14, 1973.
In March 1974, Bob began work as a cordboard operator for Southwestern Bell in Shawnee. He worked for Southwestern Bell for exactly 38 years, retiring in March 2012. He held several positions during his 38 years, including TSPS operator and working in the repair bureau, handling repair calls from all over Oklahoma. His favorite time at the phone company, however, was the 20+ years he spent collecting from pay phones, because it enabled him to travel across the state and learn about the varied businesses, military installations, and factories throughout Oklahoma.
But there was one moment at Southwestern Bell that changed Bob’s life forever – the time he was sent to Tulsa and he met Emily Albert. She would soon be transferred to Oklahoma City, and they would soon find themselves spending a lot of time with each other. On August 20, 1990, they were married in Trinidad, Colorado.
In a final note of love and appreciation to his family, Bob wrote that Emily gave him “the best years of my life. When we got married, I went from being a bachelor to being a husband, father, and grandfather. She has given me the best family I could have asked for.”
Bob was a family man. He loved the family into which he was born, and he loved the family he gained when he married Emily. He loved tracking down his family heritage through past generations.
In 1978, he took skiing lessons and quickly fell in love with the sport, becoming an accomplished skier. For years after that, he went skiing whenever he had the opportunity and was able to encourage family members to join him on his ski trips. He taught Emily and their grandchildren to ski, and now they will continue the family tradition begun by their grandfather.
He loved to travel. He and Emily took children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren on numerous trips over the years, visiting national parks, historic sites, and scenic wonders, and – on one vacation – a series of haunted hotels.
He also was a photographer, buying dozens of cameras and lenses over the years, studying methods of photography, and taking thousands of photos, especially on his many travels.
Throughout his 38 years with Southwestern Bell, Bob was a devoted member of the Communications Workers of America and believed strongly in the union movement. That he passed away on Labor Day has to be more than a coincidence.
Bob is survived by his wife, Emily, 3 children; 9 grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; 1 sister and her husband; 8 nephews; and 4 nieces.
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