Obituary: Carol Mae Morris

Carol Mae Morris was born on Feb. 16, 1929, in Wadsworth, Ohio, at the beginning of the Great Depression. She entered this world with a headful of Shirley Temple curls, and throughout her baby, toddler and adult years those curls became her instant trademark.

She was a beautiful woman, not only on the outside but on the inside, and her infectious smile made others smile back instantly.

She was raised close to Pymatuning Dam, Pennsylvania, on a farm, where her father, Leland Sulzbach, was a farmer who raised cows and horses and sold milk to the Amish. Her mother, Rhea, did linotype for a newspaper, which was owned by her great-aunt, Nellie Harter.

Carol’s first job was at the Nabisco Company in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where she made material for parachutes.

On April 12, 1953, she married Loren Brent Morris; and on Feb. 19, 1954, their only child, Pamela, was born in Akron, Ohio.

In 1960, the family moved from Ohio to Orlando, Florida and Carol went to work at the West Orange Bank of Ocoee, where she was employed as a drive-in teller, proofreader and bookkeeper. Eight years later she was hired by the First National Bank of Winter Garden, Florida, where she held the position of drive-in teller and bookkeeper until her retirement from Wells Fargo Bank.

In April of 2013 she was named the West Orange Ocoee Senior of the month; she was one of the original members who joined the West Orange Seniors from the organization’s inception.

She enjoyed being a member and loved singing in the choir, attending bingo, crafts, domino games, exercise classes and the monthly senior lunches, and she found great pleasure traveling on their many senior bus tour excursions throughout Florida and the United States.

In her spare time, Carol loved gardening. She raised orchids, roses and violets and delighted in nurturing and tending to her flowers and raising various types of household plants on her back porch. She found immense pleasure in caring for, loving and raising her family dogs; one family cat, Miss Princess; and Lassie, her horse from her childhood days on the family farm.

On May 29, 2019, Carol and her daughter were involved in a head-on auto collision. Mrs. Morris passed away on June 4 at age 90 at Orlando Health from injuries sustained as a result of the accident. She passed away with her daughter and family friend by her side, surrounded by her precious Lord and Father as her beautiful soul entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

Her daughter, Pam, gratefully extends a special thanks to her friends and Holy Family Church for their many condolences, phone calls and prayers. A special thank-you to the Orlando Health Critical Care and trauma team nurses for their compassionate care of her mom, Carol Morris, prior to her passing away.

Carol will be sadly and sorely missed by her surviving daughter, Pamela. She was predeceased by her husband, Loren; her parents, Leland and Rhea Sulzbach; her brother, James; and sister, Eleanor; and many other family relatives.

Mrs. Morris was a devoted Christian church member of Holy Family Episcopal Church, where she attended services every Sunday, come rain or come shine.