The following is a tribute Jimmie Butler and I'd written about Moe and Virginia, his wife, and which was posted at the 2005 PPWC. FPD
Moe Morris has flown off into the sunset for the final time, with his wife of 57 years, Virginia Lucille Barnes Morris. Virginia Morris died March 15th, and Moe followed her 18 days later on April 2. Moe, a friend of PPW, and a member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, was an author of note in the local writing community. He assisted in the creation of the PPWC by accepting an invitation from Jimmie H. Butler (founder of the PPWC) to be a faculty member in the inaugural conference in 1993. Over the years, Moe judged contest entries and participated in many panels and roundtables. Always pensive and lively in discussion, he was the author of nine books: Alpha Bug, The Icemen, Sword of Shaheen, The Last Kamikaze, Biostrike, Stealth, C-130: The Hercules, H. Norman Schwarzkopf, and Sand Crabs. His novel Sand Crabs was recently fully funded to begin production as a feature film. Moe's writing awards include a National Freedom Foundation Honor Award, and two Top Hand Awards from the Colorado Author's League.
Moe, or Marion Eugene Morris, was a Fourth-of-July baby, born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1926, and joined the Navy in March of 1944. He retired 30 years later with numerous awards and commendations, and held a BS in Nautical Science, an MS in International Relations, and was a graduate of the Senior Course of the Naval War College. Moe was also a member of the Navy League of the United States, the Daedalians (Order of Military Pilots), and the Association of Naval Aviation.
Moe's travels in and out of the military took him around the world, but more notably to such places as the Antarctic, and Polynesia and Micronesia. Moe loved Hawai'i, and he and Virginia frequently traveled to Honolulu (the cover of Sand Crabs is a picture Moe took during one of their travels to the islands). In Antarctica, Moe has a glacier named after him. Morris Glacier, ten miles long, drains north from Mount Daniel into the Ross Ice Shelf, between Lillie Range and Clark Spur. It was named by exploration party NZGSAE, 1963-64, for Cdr. Marion E. Morris, USN, Executive Officer (later Commanding Officer) of Squadron VX-6, who piloted their reconnaissance aircraft. Now we know.
Besides writing, Moe was passionate about his family (he is survived by nine children, 22 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren), aviation and photography (had his work professionally published), and had built and flown his own Experimental Class aircraft. Moe loved people and made himself available to many, both in and out of the PPWC.
We miss ya, Moe!
PPWC Steering Committee
April 13, 2005
