Alice O. Morris

Alice Owsley Morris was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky on January 24, 1925. She was the oldest of two children, and was preceded in death by her brother John Owsley. She was the daughter of Warner Wellman “Pete” Owsley and Lois Brown Owsley, both of Kentucky, and the widow of Jack Mason Morris, of Lexington. Jack and Alice met at the University of Kentucky, married in 1949, and moved to Mexico City to earn their living and start a family of five children: Kathleen, Geoffrey, Michael, Patrick and Timothy, now variously living in Illinois, Missouri, and New Jersey. During their 20-year careers in Mexico City, Alice and Jack taught English at the Instituto Mexicano-Norteamericano de Relaciones Culturales, later opening a private school for adult students, the Instituto Metropolitano de Inglés.

Alice was a devoted wife and mother, with a true passion and zest for life and learning. Having retired from her job teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at Southern Illinois University in 1995, Alice remained firmly committed to her passions of listening to opera, gardening, pets, and giving back to her community. She manifested this commitment by teaching, during her retirement, free community college “English conversation practice” classes for adult students at Waubonsee Community College and Aurora Community College. Alice designed bulletin board posters to advertise her class, placed them on college notice boards, and each week planned a theme, activity, or vocabulary practice, for her students. She was well respected and loved by ESL students far and wide, in Mexico City and Illinois. Alice was also an eclectic reader, whose tastes ran the gamut of historical fiction, non-fiction, and biographies.

Alice’s love of gardening, which she freely shared with her children and grandchildren, was evident in her attractively planned and beautifully tended rose and flower beds. Her children and grandchildren were the recipients of her generosity in being able to share Lyric Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and live theater productions with her. She also provided the experience of a lifetime for her five children, twice taking them to Europe to introduce them to different languages and cultures. She was well known and loved by staff and residents in two residential retirement communities.

Alice was very attached to her cats, including her last, Clancy. In addition to her children, Alice is survived by her daughters-in-law Deborah, Joan, and Laurie, son-in-law José, grandchildren Elizabeth, Elisa, Matthew, Andrea, Sam, Margaret, Jack, Nicolette, and Heather, and great-grandchildren Drew, Sophia, Claire, and Kate. She is sorely missed.