Lavina (Vi) Morris

Lavina (Vi) Morris, 86, of Gallipolis, Ohio, passed away on Thursday, July 3, 2014. Vi was born November 21, 1927 in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Alice Wright Williams and Harvey B. Williams. At the age of 10, city girl Lavina spent summers on a farm with her grandmother who was one-quarter Cherokee by blood, but according to Vi was 90% Native American in her “emotions, knowledge, and habits”. She taught young Lavina about Cherokee ways, such as listening to the evening owl calls to determine the following day’s weather, and using herbs, tree bark, and local plants to heal infection and disease. When whooping cough swept through the child population in the area, Grandma had Lavina hold a live minnow under her tongue until it died, to prevent her from becoming ill. This relationship made a lasting impression on the ten-year-old girl. By middle school, Lavina had read every book in her local branch of the Houston Public Library. She graduated from Milby High School in 1944, and attended Abilene Christian College in Abilene, Texas. Since WWII was still underway, there was no gasoline available to drive her to college, and Vi remembers taking the train alone from Houston to Abilene, with a trunk containing all her belongings. She was 16 years old, and the trains were full of soldiers being transferred. According to Vi, the GIs looked out for her, treating her like a kid sister. When Bill Morris returned from WWII and swept her off her feet, Vi put college on hold. They married on August 22, 1945, and raised four children together in Houston and then Baytown, Texas. Vi completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Houston in 1955, with a major in English and a special focus on the works of Shakespeare. Once her four children were in school, Vi taught senior English at Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown. Her classes were in great demand, partly because in 1967 she taught the poetry of Bob Dylan alongside more traditional American poets. Lavina pursued a master’s degree in Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, commuting back and forth to her family in Baytown and staying mid-week nights in Huntsville. She completed the program in record time, and became head librarian at Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, a job she adored until she and Bill retired in the late 1970s. She will be remembered for her frequent smile that would light up the room, and for her warm hugs that had friends and family standing in line. Lavina is survived by three daughters and one son: Robin (Kevin) Lyles of Gallipolis, Kathryn (Ron) Kleyn of Fresno, CA, Karen Morris of Cambridge, MA, and Ronald Morris of Minneapolis, MN. Ten grandchildren, several nephews, one niece, and several cousins survive her. She was preceded in death by her husband William S. Morris on November 15, 2004, her dear brother H.B. Williams, and her parents. Friends may call on Monday, July 7, 2014 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Willis Funeral Home in Gallipolis. Graveside services wil be held at 9 a.m. Friday, July 11, 2014 at the West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas. Please visit www.willisfuneralhome.com to send e-mail condolences.