Stephen M. Morris

Stephen M. Morris died January 13th at 9:30 p.m. at the West Valley Hospital in Goodyear, Arizona from complications of an aneurysm. Morris was born on the family farm in Denmark, Arkansas on June 14, 1928. During WWII, Morris enlisted in the Navy and served as a medical corpsman in the South Pacific for three years. He graduated from Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas in 1952 He received a master's degree in Hospital Administration from Washington University in 1954. In 1954, he became an Assistant Administrator at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. He rose through the Administrative ranks at Good Samaritan Hospital and became President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization in 1966. In a corporate re-organization, Morris became Chairman of the board of Directors and CEO of SamCor which operated the Samaritan Health Service, Phoenix, Arizona, one of the nation's first not for profit multi hospital systems. Morris was a leader in the hospital field. He was an active participant in the Arizona Hospital Association. He also served as President of the American Hospital Association in 1972, where he held many leadership posts from 1963-1976. He was a Life Fellow in the American College of healthcare Executives. In 1949 he married Euala Estelle Crow, 82, in Batesville, Ark. She now resides in Tucson, Ariz. They have two children, Craig Stephen Morris, 54, of Tucson, Ariz. and Ann Morris Barr, 53, of Tucson, Ariz. Morris has one grandson, Patrick Stephen Morris, 19, of Tucson, Ariz. Morris married his current wife, Ingrid Morris, 74, in 1983 in Phoenix. They moved to Wickenburg in 1988, after Morris retired in 1985. In Wickenburg, Morris was an active member of the Board of The Desert Caballeros Western Museum, where he helped start the museum foundation. He also served as President of the Los Caballeros Golf Club where he and Ingrid loved to play golf together. They were also enthusiastic tennis players. Morris was one of 10 siblings and is survived by three: George C. Morris, 89, of Searcy, Ark., Betty Rainwater, 74, of Lynn, Ark. and Avondale Street, 84, of Cave City, Ark., Betty Rainwater and Avondale Street are retired teachers. George Morris is a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Morris will be buried at the Morris Cemetery on his family farm in Denmark, Ark. Contributions may be made to the following: Wickenburg Community Hospital, 520 Rose Lane, Wickenburg, Ariz. 85390: Humane Society of Wickenburg, P.O. Box 147, Wickenburg, Ariz. 85358.