Beverly J Morris

Beverly J. Morris, 93, of Peachtree City, GA, formerly of Mechanicsburg, IL, passed away on Friday, January 15, 2021 at her residence.

Beverly was born on September 18, 1927 in Watseka, IL. The daughter of Samuel M. Dooley II and Irene S. Bailey. She married Roger E. Morris on April 10, 1955, and they resided in Springfield for a short time before moving to Rochester, Illinois where they lived from 1955-1959.  They purchased and remodeled an old home near the family farm on 40 acres south of Mechanicsburg and moved there in the fall of 1959.  After retirement, they built a log home and lived there until 2017.  

She graduated from Watseka High School in 1945.  She then attended National College of Education, Evanston, Illinois (now National Lewis University) - 1945-1949, graduating with a Bachelors in Education.

Her first teaching opportunity took her to Beloit, Wisconsin in 1949.The following year, she was lured to Springfield, Illinois where she was promised smaller class sizes.  Her first year in Springfield, she taught morning classes at Ridgley Elementary where she had 50 students, and afternoons at Fairview Elementary where she had 55 students.

Beverly became a stay-at-home mom for a few years, and then seeing that the Buffalo, Tri-City school district had no kindergarten, she started a private kindergarten in her home in 1965.  Once her children started school, she returned to Springfield public schools, teaching at Hazel Dell and Palmer schools from 1967-68. In 1968, Buffalo Tri-City passed a referendum to build a new grade school that would consolidate the grade schools in Buffalo, Mechanicsburg and Dawson.  She was asked to assist the design of the room for the very first kindergarten class at Tri-City.  She taught in that same room from 1969-1989 teaching half day, all day and every-other-day class formats. She retired from teaching in 1989 after 35 years. She traveled to Europe on a “shoestring” with college friends in 1951, and returned to Europe as a chaperone with a student group from Tri-City years later. Roger retired from farming in 1985, and they began wintering in Bradenton, Florida.  Roger preceded her in death in 2010.  She lived in Arbor Terrace, Peachtree City, Georgia from Spring of 2019 until her passing.  She loved Arbor Terrace living and enjoyed being a member of their choir and playing bingo on Friday nights.  

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Roger; and one brother, Samuel L. Dooley III.

She leaves behind a son, Martin Roger Morris (Christa McLaren-Morris) of Chatham, Illinois and a daughter, Melinda Lu Nash (Robert) of Peachtree City, Georgia.

Grandsons: Skylar Morris (fiancée Jill Rowland) of Kansas City, Missouri, Keaton Nash (Caroline) of Rockville, Maryland and Connor Nash of Peachtree City, Georgia.

Private graveside services will be held at the Mechanicsburg Cemetery where Rev. Brian Caughlan will officiate. A celebration of her life will be planned for this spring or summer.

Memorials may be made in lieu of flowers to Tri-city Public Library or the Mechanicsburg Cemetery. 

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