Obituaries

James Ray Morris

Photo of James Ray Morris
James Ray Morris, 85 of North Little Rock, a retired Colonel in the Arkansas National Guard with 32 years of service passed away May 13, 2017. Born on December 20, 1931 in Little Rock, he was the son of Fred and Florence Morris. In 1949, he graduated from Little Rock Central High. He joined the Air National Guard in November 1950. In 1951, James was called into active duty with the 120th Aircraft Control & Warning Sq. James was promoted to Staff Sgt., after the Korean conflict, he was released and returned to reserve duty. In 1953, James was appointed a 2nd LT in the Army National Guard and was assigned to the 445th Field Artillery BN as a pilot. He attended the University of New Mexico while serving on active duty. His final military education was a student at the Command & General Staff College. His military assignments included: Operations Officer 39th AVN; Military Academy Operations Officer & Instructor; Division Aircraft Maintenance Officer; Post Commander; Facilities Engineer Officer; Ground Surface Maintenance Officer; and Airfield Commander. He retired in 1985 from the military and US civil service. In addition to his military and civilian life, he was devoted to his church and his family. His Christian life included leading a bible study, ordained as a deacon, Training Director, president of Brotherhood, a Gideon, and Building Committee Chairman at First Assembly of God NLR. He is preceded in death by his parents, and his first wife, Betsy J. Morris. He is survived by his wife, Lynda Morris; children, Kimberly (Leonard) Hall and Kristi (Mike) Matthews; grandchildren, AJ Hall, Drew Matthews, Ethan Matthews, and Sawyer Matthews; cousin, Tona DeMers; Valerie Hawthorne and Monica Craig, daughters of Maxellen Craig; and a host of friends. Visitation will be held at First Assembly of God NLR on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 12 noon. Funeral service will begin at 1:30 p.m. Burial will immediately follow at Roselawn Memorial Park in Little Rock. To send condolences to the family and sign the online guestbook go to www.griffinleggettresthills.com.

Published May 16, 2017

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