Joan Evelyn Morris' Obituary
Joan Morris, 92, of Boardman, Ohio, and Palm Coast, Florida, passed away quietly July 31, 2020, after a brief illness. She was surrounded by love, prayer, and family.
Joan was born on March 16, 1928 in Youngstown, Ohio, to John and Susan Fell, one of three children. She studied briefly at Bowling Green College before leaving school in 1947 to marry Paul Morris, a tennis star and budding entrepreneur. Together, they raised three sons and three daughters.
In the early years, Joan assisted Paul in his business pursuits, tended to their growing brood and made a home above the family store, the burgeoning Paul Morris Sporting Goods. With the store’s success came a new location on Market Street and the purchase of the Morris family home in Boardman, Ohio. The Morrises were active members of Pleasant Grove Church in Youngstown, Ohio. As their six children began families of their own, Paul and Joan sold Morris Sports and retired to Palm Coast, Florida. There, they were founding members of Trinity Presbyterian Church, where Joan served as Elder and Deacon. She devoted decades to leading Bible study, Sunday school, and prayer circle, and she especially loved serving as chair of Vacation Bible School. She and Paul established the Flagler County Family Life Center, a residential safe house for women and children escaping domestic abuse. Paul died in 1996, just shy of their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Throughout the decades, Joan valued the countless hours she devoted to community, church, and family. She loved laughter, hugs, and her fancy sewing machine with the embroidery attachment. She will be remembered as a woman of strength and faith and as a wife, mother, devoted sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
Joan is survived by her sons David (Judith), Rob (Diana), and Dr. John Morris (Lynn), Beverly (Dr. William Baum), Marilyn (Will Etheredge), and Jane Morris Evans. Grandchildren are Amy Ritthaler Gilmour and Jason Ritthaler, Trent and Shad Morris, Dr. Casey Morris, Elyse Baum Wallace, Rebecca Baum Hemrick, Lauren Baum Malbrough, Christopher Morris, Jennifer (Morris) Widmaier, and Thomas and Trevor Evans -- along with seventeen beautiful great-grandchildren.
Joan is preceded in death by sisters Janet and Eleanor, daughter-in-law Pam, and grandson Paul Michael Morris.
The extended Morris family would like to thank the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House, Trinity Presbyterian Church, and the Las Palmas retirement community for their care and friendship.
Mrs. Morris will be interred alongside her husband at the Columbarium at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Palm Coast.
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