Obituary - James Donald Morris

November 13, 1963 - July 10, 2024

James Morris peacefully passed away on the morning of July 10, 2024.

A celebration of his life with family and friends sharing stories and a picnic lunch will be held later this year.

Angela reminisces that when James was about 12 years old, he had a little AM/FM radio. He took it apart, switched some wires around, and wound up getting some weird stations. After that, he was constantly taking things apart to see how they worked and then putting them back together. James had a few friends but preferred to hang out at home. He loved camping, traveling, and making hot wings so hot that you could not eat them. He would eat them like we were all wimps.

David remembers when he first met James, “James had just returned from trade school in Arizona. We were riding from Gabbs to Fallon in the back of Pops Dodge pick-up. James was slipping cigarettes to me. I thought we were being so sneaky. This was my first experience with my brother.”

James’ niece, Melissa Kress, says that she and her uncle were close her whole life, from shopping for her birthday to fishing and camping during the summer. She lived with him in Reno when she started college. “I will miss his smile and laugh the most.”

Ross wanted a large family his whole life. When he met James and the rest of the clan, it was like an answered prayer. “I’d always wanted a brother, and James was my first. I’m going to miss him.”

“My fondest memory,” said Mary, “is when James would take me up to Summit in the winter, on the dirt roads, using Daddy’s old Ford pick-up truck. You needed a strong arm to steer and know how to drive a stick. It was scary and fun…I was only 13 years old.

James Donald Morris was born November 13, 1963, in Boulder City, Nevada, to Donald and Janet (Rhoads) Morris. He graduated from Gabbs High School, class of 1981, and was a member of DECA. James married Orlaina Virginia Frances in 1982. Together, they had one daughter, Cynthia Rose (Morris) Morrow. James and Orlaina divorced in 1986. Later, James married Janet Lee Chadderdon in 1999. Their marriage was annulled shortly afterward.

James was preceded in death by his father, Donald Grant Morris; mother, Janet Ruth (Rhoads) Wooner; brothers, Emory Grant Morris and Michael Lee Morris; and stepfather, David Arthur Wooner.

James was the fourth of seven children and is survived by four siblings: brother Ross (Justin) Crawshaw-Lopton; sister Angela (Craig) Renee Howes; stepbrother David (Sandy) Arthur Wooner, Jr.; stepsister Mary Louise Wooner; sister-in-law Jackie Morris; and pets Donny, Jenna, and Beetle.