Dr. Charles Edward Morris, Jr., age 92, was born September 30, 1931, and passed away August 11, 2024.
Morris, affectionately known as “Buddy” to family members, was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, the son of Charles E. and Verta E. Warner Morris. He married Jeanne Albertha Brown, August 18, 1957, in Charleston, South Carolina, whom he met at a resort in New Hampshire, where they served as support staff.
Morris graduated from high school at the age of 16 as class valedictorian. He graduated from Swift Memorial Junior College as class salutatorian in 1948, and as cum laude, from Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, North Carolina, a historically Black college.
Morris taught high school in High Point, North Carolina, and then finished the doctoral program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their children were born in Urbana, and then, Morris accepted a position as an associate professor of mathematics at Illinois State University. He was later promoted to vice president for Administrative Services, then vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the Illinois Board of Regents in Springfield.
After relocating to Normal in 1966, the Morrises were part of a team that purchased housing for African American Illinois State students. In 1984, Morris assisted ISU students in chartering the Nu Psi Lambda alumni chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and was very instrumental in the lives of innumerable students.
One former student and member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Eta Tau Chapter stated, “I can’t tell you how many brothers stated how Dr. Morris greatly helped them and made the difference in them staying in school.” The Morrises built their home in Normal in 1970, where they resided until 2018. They moved to Westminster Village in Bloomington and continued their extensive travels around the world and across the country to visit family for many years. One significant trip in 2023 was to his home in Virginia to attend a street naming ceremony in recognition of his father’s work.
As a family, the Morrises traveled often to Virginia in the summers, made countless trips to Mount Pleasant and Charleston, South Carolina, and spent family time at historical sites throughout the country and abroad, expanding his children’s worldview. The foundation, however, was the oral history both Charles and Jeanne shared with their children and others. Social justice was a significant tenet of the Morrises, and their experiences and perspectives have been shared with many. The Illinois State Multicultural Center has a library in Dr. Charles and Dr. Jeanne Morris’ name; and they donated books and pictures to the center, ensuring that students and visitors would continue to learn and research African American history. Morris also spent hours documenting he and his wife’s ancestry.
