Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Morrison, Earl Lewis, Sr. 2004
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Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net January 30, 2010, 1:16 pm

Ionia Sentinel Standard, 23 Nov 2004

Earl Lewis Morrison Sr., age 86, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2004, at 
Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.

He was born March 13, 1918 in Ionia, the son of Lewis and Mary (Underhill) 
Morrison, aboard a train somewhere between Big Rapids and Ionia.  Mr. Morrison 
attended area schools.  Among his teenage jobs were digging for clams for the 
local button factory, and caddying for Governor Fred Green.

Earl married Agnes Mae Zander on Jan. 24, 1937 at First Presbyterian Church in 
Ionia, with the Rev. Adam Westmass officiating.

Earl joined the Army and was a jumpmaster with the Angels of Chapel Hill, 11th 
Airborne, until he broke his ankle and could no longer be a paratrooper.  He 
was then assigned to Headquarters Company, 128th Regimental Combat Team, AF-
WESPAC, where he was the personal bodyguard and driver for Gen. MacArthur.  He 
was the head of the bodyguard unit when the Japanese surrender was signed on 
the U.S.S. Missouri in 1945.

He was involved in mop-up operations in the Pacific until his service expired.  
He also studied at the University of Manilla.  Earl received Good Conduct and 
Sharpshooter medals.  Earl was asked by the Army Corp. of Engineers to remain 
in the Army with the Tennessee Valley Authority, but decided to return to 
civilian life.  He and Agnes ran Morrison’s Upholstery Shop for 26 years.

Earl worked at Ypsilanti Reed and its successors for nearly 60 years until it 
closed in 1996 under the name GenCorp.  For his near six decades of dedicated 
service, in 1995 he received the Highest Seniority Award in GenCorp history.  
He worked mostly in skilled trades, including pattern maker, upholsterer, 
chemical mixer and power plant operator.  He received a Ford Motor Company 
award for cutting out 750,000 Jeep seats for the war effort.  During World War 
II the factory received the Army-Navy “E for Excellence” award and Earl 
received the Highest Production Award.  He also received first prize at a 
Chicago Furniture Fair for a davenport design.

Preceding him to heaven were his wife, Agnes; parents; step-mother, Cloie 
Morrison; sisters, Cleobelle Cronk and Lucille Wooters; brothers, Paul and 
Floyd Morrison; half-brothers, John, Merrill, Robert and baby Morrison; step-
brothers, Albert Wise and Roy Underhill.

Surviving are one son, Earl (Janice) Morrison of Ypsilanti; daughters Polly 
(Wayne) McKendry of Cary, N.C. and Ionia, Merilee (David) Morrison-Cotter of 
Ionia, Diana (Ronald) Jewell of Fenwick; brother-in-law, Francis Cronk, who was 
a best friend from childhood; eight grandchildren, Virginia Morrison, Kristen 
(Ralph) Wagenschutz of Ypsilanti, Christopher (Terri) McKendry of Texas, Scott 
McKendry, Anne (Patrick )Bondurant of N.C., David II and Rachel-Elise Cotter of 
Ionia, Christian Jewell of Fenwick, as well as five great-grandchildren.

Funeral services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Ionia, 
conducted by the Rev. David W. Bogda, Pastor.  Interment is in the Highland 
Park Cemetery.  The family received friends at the Schrauben-Lehman funeral 
home on Monday.  For those desiring, memorial contributions may be made to the 
St. John’s Lutheran Church Memorial Fund, in memory of Mr. Earl L. Morrison.


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