Wesley James Morris,
born October 28, 1920, died peacefully in the company of his wife and children, on Father’s Day, June 20, 2010, in Sarasota, Florida.
Born in Ogden Iowa, and raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, Wes lived in Wauwatosa and Neenah, Wisconsin, before retiring to Sarasota, Florida. He and Sallie met Russell and Eve Blankenburg, bought one of their lots on the north side of Loon Lake, and built a summer home there. The cabin has been a gathering place for the Morris family since the mid-1970s.
Wesley (Bob) Morris, graduated from Lawrence University, where he was a standout tennis and basketball player. Wes married Sallie Rothchild before deploying to the South Pacific in 1943. He served with Field Artillery in the Philippines and New Guinea. Following WWII, Wes earned his MBA at the University of Michigan and began a long career working for the Wisconsin Telephone Company in Milwaukee.
Following Sallie’s death in 1977, Wes married Marianne Swanson Shade and moved to Florida where he enjoyed three decades of retirement centered around golf, tennis, annual visits to Loon Lake, enduring friendships, and service to his community and his church. In his final years, Marianne’s constant love, support, and advocacy formed the foundation of Wes’s health and wellbeing.
Immediate surviving family are his wife Marianne, and children Jim Morris of Boulder, Bonnie Morris and Dean Holzman of Minneapolis, Julie Morris and Jono Miller of Sarasota, Tish Morris and Mark Higgins of Albuquerque, Michael Shade of Green Bay, Robert and Margaret Shade of Green Bay, and grandchildren Corley Miller, Lilia Morris- Holzman, William Shade, Nicholas Shade, Thomas Shade, Matthew Shade, and James Shade. He is also survived by his sister Barbara MacNaughton of Green Bay and numerous nephews and nieces.
He was predeceased by his parents, Roy and Rosena Morris, his sister Bonnie Vander Velden, and brother William Morris.
The family would also like to thank and recognize four generations of the Heston/Gecas family, the Grinnell family and our other neighbors on Loon and Gunflint Lakes for their support and friendship to Wes these many years.
Memorial Services have been held. The family requests memorial donations be sent to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 2792, Sarasota, FL 34230.
Leave a Reply