James N Morris 1923-2011

Obituary
James N. Morris, 88, of Verona, died on Tuesday, August 9, 2011. Beloved husband for 63 and a half years of Mary Louise Morris; dear father of Donna J. DeLancey and James E. (Helen M.) Morris; grandfather of Jayson (Cheryl) DeLancey, William and Christopher Pollitt; great- grandfather of Reed and Logan DeLancey, Casey, Chelsea, Greyson and Adrian Pollitt; brother of Alice (the late William) Patterson. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two brothers. Mr. Morris served in the Marines as a Corporal during WWII, was a member of the Verona Eagles and enjoyed bowling.

Eulogy
I haven't been to many funerals but based on what I've seen in movies and on tv my objective is to make *you* cry while trying to keep myself composed enough to finish. I was trying to remember whether or not the last time I heard a eulogy to use as a reference was when my father passed away when I was only 10. This is not that much different an experience for me because my grandfather played as large of an impact in my world especially in the 20 years since I was that little boy.

There was a reason I tried to make it a habit to call my grandparents every week to talk to them. Even though I could and probably did read all the articles online about the Steelers, it didn't matter -- I heard it from him so that he could make sure I was fully informed before we decided on what the point spread would be and if we were betting 25 cents or going double-or-nothing.

Gambling on sports or playing cards was not the only thing you could depend on with my grandfather, you could depend on him. He made sure he was on time and that I would find my way to karate, swimming, baseball, hockey, kung fu on time and patiently wait in the car until I was done or grandma was finished in the store. If I was unsatisfied with dinner, I could depend on him knocking on the door to deliver some kraft macaroni and cheese.

He was a stoic figure, he wouldn't complain about whatever non sensible choice of music I may have put on the radio or when I smashed his car up (both sides). The only thing that ever seemed to upset him was when grandma thought he was driving too fast and all the other cars thought he was driving too slow.

We spent a lot of time together over the years -- trying to teach me to ride a bike in the back alley, going up to the baseball field to catch and hit, shaving, learning to drive, picking grandma up after work from sears, stopping at the bank on the way to the nursing home to visit his mother, the bowling alley, the shoe shop, and going to the barbershop every four weeks for a haircut -- a practice I have not kept up as I learned yesterday I'm getting light on top AND still need a haircut.

My wife and I sat down with our kids to try and explain to them what happened and what it all means. Even if we want to defy the gravity of what happens in life and avoid the topic of death ourselves, we felt it was important to be open and honest and celebrate the lifetime and memory of a great man and to appreciate the time we spent with him and the time we still can with others.

One of RJ's first questions (he's 4) was "who will do the tricks" which we found out to be his memory of playing "little piggies" or "steal your nose", and other little games they would play together when we visited for the holidays and on various trips back here to Pittsburgh. When I have been thinking about my grandfather the past few days and his life's work, I have come to recognize that some of the things I like most about who I am as a person are qualities that I learned from him and he was the role-model for every day. I just hope that as time goes on that I am capable of continuing his legacy and teaching my children RJ and Logan all of their great-grandfather's "tricks"... and when they're old enough maybe some of his jokes too.