November 2017
John Richard Morris, L4372, who served as FMCA’s national president from 1977 to 1979 and as national treasurer from 1975 to 1977, died February 7, 2017. He was 84.
The Washington, Pennsylvania, native graduated from Washington High School in 1949 and four years later he earned a physics degree from Washington and Jefferson College. He then served in the U.S. Army in Okinawa, Japan, for two years. Shortly before his honorable discharge, he was an usher in a wedding and was partnered with bridesmaid Connie Kotva, who caught the bride’s bouquet.
After that wedding, John began attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In June 1957, he received a master’s degree in industrial management and was hired by IBM. Two months later, John and Connie married. By 1964, they had five children.
On New Year’s Day 1968, John, Connie, and their children were watching the Rose Parade on television in their Armonk, New York, home. “It would be fun to go see that,” Connie remarked. John said that in order to afford such a trip, they would have to take a motel and restaurant with them. Instead, they bought a tent trailer that slept all seven of them. Before long, they traded it for a Hi-Lo trailer.
In the summer of 1969, they hooked the trailer to a station wagon and headed west to Disneyland. During the trip, they saw their first motorhome and agreed that was the way to go. Connie suggested waiting until they could really afford one. John said through clenched teeth that as soon as he got the trailer home, he wasn’t pulling it another inch. And he didn’t.
Their first motorhome was a product of Lifetime Industries. The Morrises joined FMCA and attended their first rally, as members of the Northeastern chapter, in Boston, Massachusetts. Connie said she still remembers that the young man who registered them said, “If you don’t have a good time, it’s your own fault.”
In 1973, the Morrises moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where John was a vice president at Control Data Corporation for 13 years. John became president and national director of FMCA’s Pioneers chapter, and his terms as FMCA national treasurer and national president followed.
John also was a member of FMCA’s Finance Committee from 1973 to 1975 and the Constitution & Bylaws Committee from 1984 to 1986. And he helped organize two other chapters.
In 1986, the Morrises moved to Forest City, Iowa, where they served as executive directors of Winnebago-Itasca Travelers, a Winnebago Industries-sponsored club for owners of Winnebago and Itasca motorhomes. They held that post until 1990, when John was named CFO at North Central Human Services in Forest City, where he worked until he retired in 1999.
John was a member of St. James Catholic Church and sang in the choir. He also was member of the Rotary and the chamber of commerce in Forest City. He was an avid reader and accomplished woodworker.
“Our time with FMCA was filled with wonderful friends and good times,” Connie said. “John said one of the best things we ever did was join FMCA.” And although the entire family never made it to the Rose Parade, John and Connie did attend together in 1989.
In addition to Connie, survivors include five children, 17 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.