Louise E. Morris, 88

CHESTERTOWN, Md. - Louise E. Morris of Chestertown, formerly of Bethesda and St. Michaels, died of advanced dementia Monday, Dec. 31, 2007, in Heron Point, Chestertown. She was 88.

Mrs. Morris was born Aug. 25, 1919, in Altoona, Pa., daughter of the late William and Elsie Moore.

She left Altoona for Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., and then received her nursing degree from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Mrs. Morris' plans to be a pediatric nurse were interrupted by World War II, when she joined the Army Nurse Corps. She served with distinction at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. There she rose to become a first lieutenant and charge nurse of one of the wards serving Army amputees, where she met her future husband, Pfc. Donald Morris, who had lost a leg in the invasion of Sicily.

She and her husband settled after the war in Bethesda, where she continued to nurse at Suburban Hospital and for the Woodward and Lothrop Department Store.

She had a lifelong love for animals, particularly dogs. The Morris household was never without its family dog, which was frequently accompanied by rabbits, snakes, skunks or a gerbil, the care (and occasional nursing) of which always fell to her. At Heron Point, she was best known for the long walks she took with Med, her beloved Norwich terrier.

Mrs. Morris was a very active member of the congregation at Bethesda United Methodist Church. After the Morrises retired to St. Michaels and their house on Broad Creek, Mrs. Morris was an active congregant at St. Luke's United Methodist Church, St. Michaels, a member of St. Michaels Women's Club and a volunteer at the St. Michaels Branch of the Talbot County Free Library from the time of its opening. Upon her husband's death in 2003, Mrs. Morris moved to Heron Point, where she was a volunteer at the Humane Society of Kent County.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a son, Gary Morris, in 2005.

She is survived by a daughter, Ellyn Vail of Galena; and two sons, Craig Morris of Greenbrier, Ark., and Brian Morris of Trappe.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday in the chapel at the Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery, Hurlock.

Burial will be next to her son and husband.

Memorial services will be in Wesley Hall, Heron Point, at a later date to be announced.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Humane Society of Kent County, 10720 Augustine Herman Highway, Chestertown, MD 21620.

Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein, and Newnam Funeral Home, Chestertown.