Obituary of Richard Wade Morris

Richard "Rick" W. Morris of Lady Lake, Florida died November 1, 2010. He was born in Stowe, Ohio and grew up in Akron. Rick served with the U.S. 8th Air Forces in England during WW II, with battle stars and Unit Citations, flying heavy bomber B-17s, and stayed over for several years with the Occupation Forces in Germany. Following that time period, he remained active with Air Force Standby Reserve for a total 20 years, retiring as a Major and Senior Pilot. Rick graduated from Kent State University with an A.B. Degree in Broadcasting and Journalism, and broadcast with several radio stations before joining Goodyear. After retiring from Goodyear in 1987 he worked as a behind-the-scenes volunteer with The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. This time was spent helping to organize and computerize aviation, space and military history documents to aid researchers in recovery of data. Rick moved to the Villages in 1997 from Alexandria, Virginia, where he spent 40 years as a business representative for Goodyear Aerospace dealing with all branches of Government and Congress. His most intriguing and interesting associations were helping make innovations in space exploration and military electronics. He holds Goodyear's Paul W. Litchfield Award and the Bosch & Lombe Scholastic Science Award. During the years in The Villages, he made it his major interest to advance the interests of veterans, helping to get their stories told and preserved for themselves and their families in The Village Sun and elsewhere. He is survived by several distant cousins and a niece. Services will be held 6 pm on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 with a gathering one hour prior at Hiers-Baxley Funeral services of The Villages, Fl. Inurnment will be at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Fl at a later date. Arrangements by Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services of The Villages, Florida, 352-753-8353.