Jack Morris, aged 91, resident of Stamford and formerly of Old Greenwich, died August 4, 2022 after unsuccessful treatment of prostate cancer.
He leaves his wife, Lucille (Lu) List Morris, five of their six children; 12 of their 13 grandchildren and one great-grandson: Tom and his wife, Marion, and their children Mack (Adele Hayward) and Dillon; Hans and his wife, Kate, and their daughter Lucy; Fritz and his wife Heather, and his children Jack, Shay and Siobhan; Monika and her husband, Marwan Kreidie, and their children Ellie, Franz and Noor; and Ted and his wife, Susan, and their children Miles, Charlie and Isabel. He was predeceased by his daughter Alicia, of New York City, and his grandson Mac (son of Hans and Kate) of Lee, Mass. Mac’s wife, Jenny, of Lee, Mass., and their son, Billy, also survive him, as does his sister, Tricia Morris (Duffy Herman) of Maui, Hi.
Jack had been active in public relations as a consultant and corporate executive for more than 40 years, retiring from Citigroup Inc. as its corporate spokesman in 2000 and becoming a consultant until 2007. In his last years with Citigroup he was liaison with the New York Philharmonic tours to Europe (2000) and Latin America (2001). His consulting included assignments for the global law firm of Shearman & Sterling and the New York Stock Exchange. Earlier in his career he had been with CPC International, the firm of Rubenstein, Wolfson & Co. as a partner, and J.P. Morgan and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company. Earlier he had been a journalist during U.S. Army service and later with the Associated Press in Connecticut, The Courier News, a daily newspaper then in Plainfield, NJ, and Medical Economics magazine.
He has been active in a number of professional organizations, heading the Wisemen public affairs group and participating in the Public Relations Society of America, as an accredited member, chairing its Financial Relations Section, and in 1999 being named an emeritus member.
He was born on April 16, 1931, in Baltimore, MD, where he was raised by his German immigrant grandparents while his mother (Joan Jurish Morris) was working in New York. He was eventually adopted by his stepfather, Vincent E. Morris and moved to White Plains, NY as a teenager. He graduated from White Plains High School and from Dartmouth College, after service in U.S. Army in the Occupation of Germany, 1952-53. He was an instructor in Dartmouth’s Great Issues course in 1956-57, the first year of his marriage to Lu, a Music major at Manhattanville College, who became secretary to the Music Department.
Jack was given to saying: “I was just a poor boy from Baltimore who got lucky in life and in love as Lu’s husband, with our six children and 13 grandchildren, and reveling in their love.” He had Lu read Heathen Days, H.L. Mencken’s autobiography, before they were married so that she could better understand his Baltimore upbringing.
Jack and Lu came to Old Greenwich in 1985, having lived previously for 22 years in New Rochelle, NY. They have been active in the community, including as members of St. Catherine of Siena Church and Riverside Yacht Club. Among his community activities, he has been on the board of Greenwich United Way, a member of the Commission on Aging of the Town of Greenwich and chairman of the Landmark Recognition program of the Greenwich Historical Society. On March 1, 2019, they moved to Edgehill, a senior independent living and continuing care community in Stamford. Shortly before his death, he was elected president of Edgehill’s residents’ council.
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