Cornell Memorial Statement for Professor Fred Bishop Morris (1896 — 1989)
"Fred B. Morris, Emeritus Professor of Extension, died in Ithaca, July 2, 1989, at the age of 92. He had served the Cornell Faculty and Ithaca community for sixty years and was known for his expertise in organizational techniques, leadership development, and effective program building.
In 1928 Professor Morris joined the College of Agriculture Faculty at Cornell as an assistant state leader of agricultural agents. In 1943 he became the state leader and in 1958 he retired as an emeritus professor of extension.
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Fred Morris was a native of Shelbyville, Indiana. His father and grandfather were merchants. As a high school student he worked in his Uncle Orville’s drugstore. It was here he first became acquainted with farm families, liked them, and decided he would make a career of working with farm people. After graduation from Shelbyville High School he enrolled at Purdue University to study agriculture.
World War I interrupted his studies at Purdue. He served in the Quartermaster Corps in Virginia training pack mules for service. Upon release from the Army he decided to locate in New York State where farm land prices were lower than in Indiana and he was fascinated by the beauty of the countryside.
At Cornell, Professor Walter Tailby hired and trained Morris to be a ‘‘milk tester” for the Dairy Herd Improvement Association. He was assigned to Erie County. The milk testers at that time stayed with the farm families where they were testing. Through this experience Fred learned much about farming and family life. After a year and a half he decided to move to Ithaca where he was hired by Dr. G.F. Warren to work on his dairy farm.
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Dean W. I. Myers, at the time of Professor Morris’ retirement, pointed out the important part that his enthusiastic leadership had played in broadening the scope of the college’s extension programs, in the development of effective farm leaders, in the introduction of new and improved farm production and marketing methods, and in bringing about better living conditions for the farm people in New York State.
Professor Morris’ professional concerns extended beyond New York State. In 1948 he went to Greece to assist in establishing extension work in that war torn country. From 1959 to 1964 he worked part-time for the University hosting foreign visitors to Cornell. He also was instrumental in developing an orientation program for new international students in the College of Agriculture. The Morris family served as hosts and entertained many foreign students in their home and from these experiences they developed friendships which continued long after the students had returned to their home countries.
The things Fred Morris stressed in his professional work he practiced in his personal life. He was a strong proponent of group action as a way to solve personal and community problems.
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Family life and home ranked high in Fred’s value system. His wife of more than sixty years, Lillian Rafferty Morris, was a teammate and loyal supporter of his work. Whiffle Tree Farm, their home for many years, was not only a place of beauty and charm but also was a place of warmth and hospitality to the many who visited there.
Fred Morris’ wife, Lillian, preceded him in death in April 1987. He is survived by two daughters, Mary M. Kelsy and Margaret M. Fletcher, both Cornellians; a son-in-law, George Fletcher; seven grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; and a host of friends. Fred Morris will long be remembered for his meticulous and humorous manner, and as a caring person, dedicated to helping people, and making the world a better place in which to live."