James M. Morris

James (Jim) M. Morris, 73, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 4, 2012, at his home in Mason, after bravely confronting and fighting cancer for 20 months. Born in his grandparents’ house in Cane Creek, Kentucky, on August 16, 1939, Jim attended Lees College and then studied electrical engineering at the University of Kentucky. After working for General Electric for 33 years, he retired in 1996 to begin a second career as a gifted songwriter, poet, and talented genealogist. While at GE, he and Joe Lander, a colleague and best friend, began a country bluegrass music group that continues today with weekly jam sessions. Jim’s karaoke parties were famous throughout the area for attracting customers to local venues and entertaining friends and family members in his home. His CD, “Songs from the Heart,” and book of poetry, “Poems from Hoot Owl Hollow,” feature reflections of growing up on a farm in Kentucky, serving in the Marine Corps, interacting with eccentric characters, and poking fun at life’s humorous situations (his favorite pastime). Other publications include a guide for songwriters and a handbook for estate management. In 2006 and 2007 he was nominated for Platinum Country Artist/Writer of the Year by the Entertainment Indi-Association. Following up on a promise to his paternal grandfather, Jim also published a comprehensive genealogy of his Morris lineage, tracing his family history from Biblical times to the present. Jim will be sadly missed and forever remembered by his beloved wife of 51 years, Olive; sister Virginia (Bob) Hays (Fort Wayne, IN); brother Frank (Maxine) Turner (Jackson, KY); sister-in-law Chom Morris (Richmond, KY); aunt Lil Spicer (Kettering, OH); aunt Golden Chenoweth (Dayton, OH); uncle Hugh (Bernice) Morris (Wapakoneta, OH); numerous loving cousins, nieces, and nephews, and many caring, supportive friends. He is predeceased by his parents, Ova Herbert Morris and Virginia (Morris) Turner; brother Ova Herbert Morris, Jr.; and two sisters, Elaine Bowling and Doris Jean Morris. Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 7, from 6-8 p.m. at Hodapp Funeral Home, 8815 Cincinnati-Columbus Road, West Chester, OH 45069. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at Crestview Presbyterian Church, 9463 Cincinnati-Columbus Road, West Chester, OH 45069 on Thursday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow in the City Cemetery, Jackson, KY. Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Cincinnati, 4310 Cooper Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242.