Patricia Ann Morris

Patricia Ann (Platz) Morris, beloved mother, musician, church organist, and longtime Pendleton community member, passed away in December 2025, just one month short of her 95th birthday.

Pat was born on January 1, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois, to James Harland and Mary Ellen Platz. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Jim H. Platz Jr.

Pat was introduced to music at the young age of about four years old. With the help of her mother and teachers, she learned to play the piano, cello, and organ. She later also mastered the art of playing handbells. Music remained an important part of her life throughout the years.

Pat spent her childhood in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, Illinois. Her mother, Ellen, and her aunt, Rete, sang hymns on the radio every Sunday as “The Livingston Sisters.” Pat’s father, Jim, worked at the same Chicago radio station.

In the middle of her senior year of high school, the Platz family moved to Hood River, Oregon, and purchased a fruit orchard. Hood River, located along the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, became Pat’s home through her graduation from Hood River High School in 1949. She later attended reunions at both Hood River High School and her former school in Elmhurst.

Around 1951, Pat met her future husband, Don Morris, at the radio station in Hood River. Her father, Jim Sr., helped establish the station. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Don attended college in Eugene, Oregon, where he earned his First Class Phone license and began working in radio broadcasting.

An interesting family connection emerged years later when Pat and Don’s youngest daughter, Kathy, married Gary Midkiff. Gary’s maternal grandparents, Ben and Alberta Young, had worked in the Portland shipyards during World War II and may have helped build the Zuni, the Navy tugboat on which Don later served.

Pat and Don were married in December 1951 and made their home in Hood River for the next five years. During this time, they welcomed their three children: Lynn Elizabeth, Steven Roy, and Mary Kathryn (Kathy).

Around 1956, the family moved to Moses Lake, Washington, where Don worked for Federal Electric helping install electronics for missile silos. Pat stayed home with the children until they entered school, after which she worked as a bank teller.

After about two years in Moses Lake, the family moved to Osburn, Idaho, where both Pat and Don again worked in banking and radio broadcasting. About a year later, the family settled in Pendleton, Oregon, where Pat would spend most of her adult life.

Pat later joined Cunningham Sheep Company in Pendleton, where she worked for more than 40 years. She also became deeply involved with the Indian Princess Beauty Pageant during the Pendleton Round-Up, serving in that role for approximately 45 years.

In Pendleton, Pat became active with the Los Caballeros 4-H horse club, eventually serving as leader of the group beginning around 1964. She mentored many young people over the years and also served for many years as Superintendent of the Umatilla County Fair 4-H Horse Show.

Music and church service remained central parts of Pat’s life. She served as organist for the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, for more than 40 years. Alongside her parents, she also helped establish the church’s Bell Tones bell choir and later directed the group for approximately four decades.

Pat and Don remained in Pendleton until Don’s passing in 2016 at the age of 92. Pat later moved to a senior living community in Portland in 2019.

Pat will be remembered for her lifelong love of music, her dedication to her church and community, and the countless lives she touched through mentorship, friendship, and service. Her warmth, musical talent, and devotion to family and community left a lasting impression on all who knew her.

A Cemetery Service with Military Honors will be held for Don & Pat, 11:00 a.m., Monday, June 29, 2026 at Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon.