Virgil Morris passed away after a brief stay at Cokato Manor on February 3, 2014.
Funeral Service; 2:00 PM Saturday, February 8, 2014, at Good Shepherd Free Lutheran Church of Cokato
Visitation 4-8 PM Friday at Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home of Cokato and 1hr prior to services at Church on Saturday
Prayer Service; 7 PM Friday evening
Interment: Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery of Cokato
Virgil Victor Morris was born June 12, 1923, to Victor and Lillian (Anderson) Morris in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The family moved to Cokato, where they had originated, in 1925 to take up farming. Virgil attended the Watson School, a one room country school, and Cokato High School, from which he graduated in 1940. The Morrises were members of Evangelical Lutheran Church, which their ancestors had attended since 1869 when they arrived in the Cokato area. Virgil was a dedicated church member; for one seven year stretch he had perfect Sunday School attendance, even though the family lived several miles out in the country.
After high school, Virgil worked for one year as a bank cashier in Prinsburg, MN, and then farmed and worked for Northland Canning in Cokato until 1945, when he joined American Can Company. He was subsequently drafted into the army and served at Ft Lewis in Tacoma, WA. He married Alta Mae Ring of Cokato on May 9, 1946, and the two lived together at first in Washington. Upon his discharge in 1947, he returned to American Can, moving to company headquarters in Waukegan IL. The Morrises were members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Waukegan throughout their residence in Illinois.
The Morris’ first daughter, Phyllis, was born in 1950, and their second daughter, Joann, was born in 1954. Tragically, Joann died of meningitis in 1959.
Virgil was transferred to an upper Midwest territory by American Can in 1968 to service the company’s largest customer, Hormel, and the family moved to Austin MN, with membership in Our Saviors Lutheran Church. Virgil retired in 1981 after 36 years of service to American Can and fulfilled his dream by moving to Cokato, his family’s native home. The Morrises rejoined Evangelical Lutheran Church. They joined to Good Shepard Lutheran Church in 2010.
Virgil was very active in retirement in Cokato. He volunteered for Wright County Human Services by driving clients to clinics and hospitals, most often in Minneapolis. His driving service lasted for 27 years, ending when he was 87 years old. He was on the board of the Cokato Historical Museum for 11 years and assisted Swanson-Peterson Funeral Home for 18 years. He was also active in service to Evangelical Lutheran Church. Virgil’s main hobby was woodworking and notably he made five grandfather clocks and other fine furniture. He also traveled widely, including Sweden (the Morris family ancestral home), Norway, Denmark, England, China, Kenya, and the Holy Land.
Virgil Morris was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Lillian Morris, and his daughter Joann. He is survived by his wife, Alta Mae, his daughter, Phyllis (Teryl) Frey, of Atlanta GA, one grandson, Benjamin Frey, and his sister, Dorothy Koester of St. Louis Park MN.