Buril Morris

Buril Morris, 87, of Milton-Freewater and formerly of Telocaset, died November 8 in Walla Walla. A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at the Christian Church, 66 S. Actor St., in Dixie, Washington, with Pastor Gonzales officiating. A reception will follow at 363 S. Third Ave., in Walla Walla.

Mr. Morris was born May 18, 1917, to Thomas Jefferson and margaret Valonia Morgan Morris in Ada, Oklahoma. On February 2, 1936, he married Mildred "Sis" Blanche Lindsey La Junta, Colorado. The family had a ranch in Dixie from 1944 to 1957, bought and sold several others in Washington and one in Telocaset until he retired. The couple moved to Milton-Freewater in 2002.

He played the fiddle, mandolin and banjo, and was a member of the Bricklayers' Union and the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers Association, serving as vice president. He enjoyed animals and especially loved his great-grandchildren, giving each child a nickname.

Survivors include his wife of Milton-Freewater; children, Howard "Sonny" Morris of Irrigon, Chet Morris of Oklahoma, Sid Wayne Morris of Independence, H. Lee Morris of Boise, and Dorothy "Sissi" Easley of Walla Walla; two brothers-in-law, Robert Lindsey and Archie Lindsey, both of College Place; 11 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchldren and 7 great-great-grandchildren. An infant daughter, Mary Margaret, died earlier.

Memorials may be made to the Blue Mountain Old Time Fiddlers' Association in care of Colonial-DeWitt Funeral Home, 19 E. Birch St., Walla Walla, WA 99362.