William Jefferson Morris passed away peacefully after suffering a stroke on March 3, 2022. He was born on Aug. 19, 1942, in Charlotte, N.C., the second child of six to Wilson Jefferson Morris and Nancy Louise Aderholt Morris. He was known as William or Willie to his family, but later chose to go by Bill -- the name his friends called him.
Throughout his life, Bill never met a stranger and was the life of the party, if not the party itself. The eternal optimist, Bill could always find the silver lining in the darkest of clouds. That was perhaps his greatest gift, and he had many.
Bill graduated from Stetson University with a B.S. in Physics, working as a physics teacher and basketball coach at the High School in Commerce, Ga., following his graduation. He would leave teaching and work in the private sector with Union Carbide Company. Bill loved coaching and became a successful swim coach in South Carolina and Florida. He was an artist and could make anything with his hands. In his later years, he used these talents to make his living as a contractor.
No one could spin yarns like Bill. He could keep anyone mesmerized with his creative and expressive lingo, idioms, and humor. Bill’s expressions are the basis for some of his family’s fondest memories. The greatest loves of Bill’s life were animals, especially his horses and his dogs. This love grew from Bill’s youth spent on a plot of land referred to as the ranch in Apopka, Fla. There, he was part of the 4-H program, and raised his own cattle to show in competitions. Perhaps Bill’s greatest accomplishment was to live his life to the fullest in the way he wanted to. He loved these lines from the poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Bill raised his daughters to be strong, independent, and accomplished people. One time, a friend said, “I don’t know how Nancy and Jenny survived. But Bill’s unconventional parenting is what contributed to his daughters’ successes. Bill taught his daughters to be tough and to never give up through the most difficult of times. He would always remind them, you’re tough. For Bill, there were always many solutions to a problem, and these lessons live on in his daughters who have shared it with their children, friends, loved ones, and anyone else who would listen. Bill was a loving, supportive father who helped fulfill his daughters’ dreams. His spirit and love of life will live on throughout the generations.
Bill is predeceased by his parents Wilson J. and Nancy A. Morris, by his younger sisters Annette Morris Zaytoun and Pat Nichelson (Jack). He is survived by his daughters Nancy Masengil (Ken) and Jennifer Morris; grandchildren Jackson Parham, Emmeline Parham; siblings Robert (Jane), Martha, and George Morris; nephew Eric Morris; nieces, Leigh Fultz (Tony), Laura Zaytoun (Dele); brother-in-law Rick Reynolds.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation of any size be made in his honor to Rabun Paws for Life or to Whisper Ranch Sanctuary -- Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation, both in Clayton, Rabun County, Georgia. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
The Clayton Tribune
April 21, 2022