Morris, Howard Chapman

Howard Chapman Morris, 86, of Rich Creek, passed away on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at Carilion Giles Community Hospital in Pearisburg. Mr. Morris was born on October 17, 1925, in Lancaster, Pa., and was a son of the late Jesse Levi Morris and Lucy Strother Morris. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a son-in-law, C. Jefferson Stafford. He was a World War II Army Veteran, the first Giles County Voter Registrar, an active member of Christ Episcopal Church in Pearisburg, and a member of the American Legion Post #68 in Narrows, the American Legion Post #311 in Pembroke and the VFW Post #6000 in Narrows. He was active in the Giles County community serving as a member and past chairman of both the Giles County Board of Supervisors and the Giles County Republican Party. He was an active member, volunteer, and past president of the Giles County Chamber of Commerce and named the Giles County Citizen of the Year in 2006. He served on the Agency On Aging Board, the New River Valley Airport Commission, and the Fairview Home in Dublin Board, where the dining room was dedicated in his honor. Howard Morris was known for his love of Giles County, his storytelling and his deep historical knowledge of the New River Valley. He is survived by his wife, Brenda Bradley Morris, of Rich Creek; four daughters, Linda Candelieri and husband, Bob, Barbara Stafford, Rhonda Reynolds and husband, Billy, Heather Frazier and husband, Bruce; eight grandchildren, Chris Mann, Bobby Candelieri, Lance Reynolds, Elizabeth Stafford, Lindsay Reynolds, Mary Stafford, Bradley Frazier, and Aiden Frazier; stepgrandchildren, Steffan, Kathryn and Gunar Frazier; and one great-granddaughter, Lucy Eileen Reynolds. He is also survived by two sisters, Mary P. Hood, of Richmond, and Nancy Peters, of Pearisburg; three brothers, Rodney Morris, of Pearisburg, J.L. Morris and wife, Ann, of Pearisburg, and Robert Morris, of Jacksonville, Fla.; one sister-in-law, Sue Dudding and her husband, Joe, of Narrows; and many nieces and nephews. Funeral Service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Christ Episcopal Church in Pearisburg with the Rev. Phyllis Spiegel and Dr. Fred L. Austin officiating. Burial will be held in the Birchlawn Burial Park. The family will receive friends at the Givens Funeral Home on Friday evening, April 13, 2012, from 6 to 8 p.m. Military Honors will be given by American Legion Post #68 in Narrows American Legion Post #311in Pembroke and VFW Post #6000 in Narrows. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society and Carilion Hospice New River Valley.