John Williams Morris

John W. Morris died July 29, 2023 after suffering from Multiple Myeloma for nearly 4 years. He was born in 1934 in Vicksburg, MS, a twin of four total children of Brig. Gen. George A. Morris and Mildred A. Martin Morris. As a youth he was an outstanding math and science student, and also excelled at basketball, reaching a height of 6’6”. He initially attended Millsaps, where he met his first wife Margaret “Peggy” Falkner, marrying before his transfer during his final year to Auburn University with a basketball scholarship, where he graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He worked as a Chemical Engineer at Dow Chemicals in Freeport, TX until he began working for IBM in Nashville 1960. He worked there more than 20 years in various U.S. locations, where he perennially received the 100% Club honors as a top salesman. Realizing he was never going to lead IBM, he struck out on his own, opening Morris Information Systems, which became Computer Assistance Services. After selling the business in the mid-1990’s, he and his second wife Ben Arnold Butterworth Morris moved to Nashville, TN, where they lived until their deaths.

John is survived by:

His sister Grace Morris Spears

Children: Kimberly E. Morris, Lamar M. Morris

Stepchildren: Toni B. Caldwell, Sharon B. Latendresse, and Annette B. Crout

Grandchildren: Makay C., Scout M., Drew F., and Christopher G.

Step-grandchildren: Amy, Joseph, Michael, Daniel, Robert, Katie, Eric, Kayla, Justin, Trevor

Step-great-grandchildren: Luke, Lainey, Jennings, Evelyn, Aria, Autumn, Stephen, Ben, Amelia, Aiden, Cecilia, Edith, Natalia, and Ben

John was preceded in death by his wife Ben Arnold Butterworth Morris, his parents, twin brother Jim M. Morris and his older brother George A. Morris Jr.

John was an eternal optimist and to his dying day he always reported feeling “fine” or “great” when asked how he was doing. He loved people and was known as a generous, kind soul with an unquenchable curiosity, especially for World War II (his father served under Patton) and Winston Churchill, as well as climate change and the Civil War (his mother, who he felt was the greatest person he ever knew, volunteered as a tour guide at the Vicksburg National Park.