Individual Details
Travis Dee Morris (adopted)
(August 11, 1943 - )
"Travis lived with his grand parents in Grandfield, Oklahoma from age four until he was seven. Then he lived in Fort Worth, Texas with his Mother and stepfather, Guy Morris, who adopted him. Travis thought little of books and much of girls. Fortunately after his high school graduation he didn't change that attitude.
"Adventure drew him into the Navy in 1963 where he spent almost five years at sea, and three tours in Viet Nam. Toward the end of his enlistment he married Shirley Ann Hill and they had one child. The marriage lasted no more than four years. Travis and his daughter moved in with his parents in Fort Worth, Texas.
"He went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone and met and Married Vivian Lee Harrison, a legal secretary from Wichita Falls, Texas. She quit her job in favor of being a housewife. She adopted Travis' daughter and had four more children. They now (1991) live in Cleburne, Johnson, Texas.
"Recollections:
"- Out of Gas - The first I remember is of a trip I made with my Uncle Travis Combs and his wife Ronnie. We were going from Henderson, Nevada to Lake Mead and back. My Uncle was driving an old coupe with only two front seats and a small space where I was riding between the seats and the back window. I was under three years old and fit in the space easily. The car began to jerk back and forth, speeding up and slowing down until it coughed and quit running. My Uncle turned and looked at us, and in his good humored yet humbled voice said "Well, we're out of gas".
"- The Deer - I was about four years old and we were living in Henderson, Nevada. One of the neighbors had just returned from a deer hunt and I wanted to see the deer. There were two of them. They had their eyes open but did not move. It was explained to me that they were dead and would not move. I could not understand why anyone would destroy such a beautiful animal.
"Soon my mother called me into the house. She was crying on the sofa. When I went to her and ask of her trouble, she told me to gather my things, we were going to my Grandfather Combs' home in Grandfield, Oklahoma. "Is Daddy going?" I ask. "No." she replied. The deer was not the only thing destroyed that day.
"- The Pond - I was living with my Grandfather Combs and his wife Cora in Grandfield, Oklahoma. We lived in a white frame house located on North Main Street. It had two bedrooms, an enclosed back porch sleeping area, a huge living room, kitchen, and dining room, and a front porch that stretched almost clear across the front of the house. It had a short front yard with a sidewalk and several sycamore trees between the sidewalk and the street. The back yard was very large. At the very back of the lot, from left to right, was a car shed, a work shed, and a chicken house with attached pen. In the middle of the yard was a grape arbor with a porch swing underneath it. Behind the arbor were two apricot trees. in front of the arbor was a small lily pond. The lot and buildings comprised about one acre. My Grandfather said he bought it for about two thousand dollars during the depression, which was about one year's wage.
"On a warm summer day when relatives were visiting, there was a small boy cousin, called Butch, about my own age of four. We were out playing around the lily pond. We were reaching the lily pads as far as our arms would stretch when Butch stretched a little too far and tumbled in head first. He was under only a few seconds when he broke the surface sputtering, screaming and crying. He was just close enough for me to catch his hand and pull him to the edge where he climbed out.
"He was standing there dripping and crying and I thought he should change, so I went into the house yelling "Butch fell in the fish pond!" where upon all the ladies jumped up and went running out back. "Gee. What's all the fuss? It ain't deep."
"- The Kitten - Grandfield was a nice little town with old houses, big yards and friendly neighbors. One of which had a cat that had a litter of kittens. When the kittens were old enough to get out and go exploring one of them came over to our yard. I was delighted when it let me approach it and pet it and play with it.
"Then I discovered the funny way it acted when tossed into the air. I did it again, higher and higher, watching the way it would spread out and hit on all fours. I went to pick it up again and saw it was bleeding at the nose. I put it down and watched it stagger away and I began to cry. "I'm sorry kitty. I didn't mean to hurt you." The kitten never came back to play.
"- Sky Writing - I was happily playing in the back of my Grandfather's home in Grandfield. That morning I had found a bat hanging in the switch bush next to the house. That discovery left me with a wonder of nature and I was watching the trees, poking in the bushes, and playing with the grasses and weeds. I happened to glance up into the sky and I saw the handwriting of God.
I ran into the house screaming for my Grandmother, for I knew that the end of the world was coming. She heard my story, smiled, and took me by the hand and lead me back outside, explaining to me what I had seen. Then I could see the tiny airplane that was writing in the sky. God wasn't doing it at all... Or was he?
"- Cow Town - I was six years old when my mother remarried a man named Guy Tackett Morris (the man that adopted me). He lived in Fort Worth, Texas. My mother called it by it's nickname "Cow Town".
"She came to Grandfield to fetch me to her new husband and our new home. The trip from Grandfield was only four hours by bus. As we entered the city she said to me "Here we are in Cow Town". I looked out the window of the bus and said "Mommy, where are all the cows?" " (Travis Morris, Cleburne, Texas, 1991 - 1994; Birth Certificate, Dept of Vital Statistics, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Birth Announcement of Travis Dee Harrison; Final Adoption Decree, # 10550-C, 153rd Judicial Distrist, 12 Dec 1958; Social Security Number: 456-66-9289; Veterans Administration Number: 26 347 337.)
"Adventure drew him into the Navy in 1963 where he spent almost five years at sea, and three tours in Viet Nam. Toward the end of his enlistment he married Shirley Ann Hill and they had one child. The marriage lasted no more than four years. Travis and his daughter moved in with his parents in Fort Worth, Texas.
"He went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone and met and Married Vivian Lee Harrison, a legal secretary from Wichita Falls, Texas. She quit her job in favor of being a housewife. She adopted Travis' daughter and had four more children. They now (1991) live in Cleburne, Johnson, Texas.
"Recollections:
"- Out of Gas - The first I remember is of a trip I made with my Uncle Travis Combs and his wife Ronnie. We were going from Henderson, Nevada to Lake Mead and back. My Uncle was driving an old coupe with only two front seats and a small space where I was riding between the seats and the back window. I was under three years old and fit in the space easily. The car began to jerk back and forth, speeding up and slowing down until it coughed and quit running. My Uncle turned and looked at us, and in his good humored yet humbled voice said "Well, we're out of gas".
"- The Deer - I was about four years old and we were living in Henderson, Nevada. One of the neighbors had just returned from a deer hunt and I wanted to see the deer. There were two of them. They had their eyes open but did not move. It was explained to me that they were dead and would not move. I could not understand why anyone would destroy such a beautiful animal.
"Soon my mother called me into the house. She was crying on the sofa. When I went to her and ask of her trouble, she told me to gather my things, we were going to my Grandfather Combs' home in Grandfield, Oklahoma. "Is Daddy going?" I ask. "No." she replied. The deer was not the only thing destroyed that day.
"- The Pond - I was living with my Grandfather Combs and his wife Cora in Grandfield, Oklahoma. We lived in a white frame house located on North Main Street. It had two bedrooms, an enclosed back porch sleeping area, a huge living room, kitchen, and dining room, and a front porch that stretched almost clear across the front of the house. It had a short front yard with a sidewalk and several sycamore trees between the sidewalk and the street. The back yard was very large. At the very back of the lot, from left to right, was a car shed, a work shed, and a chicken house with attached pen. In the middle of the yard was a grape arbor with a porch swing underneath it. Behind the arbor were two apricot trees. in front of the arbor was a small lily pond. The lot and buildings comprised about one acre. My Grandfather said he bought it for about two thousand dollars during the depression, which was about one year's wage.
"On a warm summer day when relatives were visiting, there was a small boy cousin, called Butch, about my own age of four. We were out playing around the lily pond. We were reaching the lily pads as far as our arms would stretch when Butch stretched a little too far and tumbled in head first. He was under only a few seconds when he broke the surface sputtering, screaming and crying. He was just close enough for me to catch his hand and pull him to the edge where he climbed out.
"He was standing there dripping and crying and I thought he should change, so I went into the house yelling "Butch fell in the fish pond!" where upon all the ladies jumped up and went running out back. "Gee. What's all the fuss? It ain't deep."
"- The Kitten - Grandfield was a nice little town with old houses, big yards and friendly neighbors. One of which had a cat that had a litter of kittens. When the kittens were old enough to get out and go exploring one of them came over to our yard. I was delighted when it let me approach it and pet it and play with it.
"Then I discovered the funny way it acted when tossed into the air. I did it again, higher and higher, watching the way it would spread out and hit on all fours. I went to pick it up again and saw it was bleeding at the nose. I put it down and watched it stagger away and I began to cry. "I'm sorry kitty. I didn't mean to hurt you." The kitten never came back to play.
"- Sky Writing - I was happily playing in the back of my Grandfather's home in Grandfield. That morning I had found a bat hanging in the switch bush next to the house. That discovery left me with a wonder of nature and I was watching the trees, poking in the bushes, and playing with the grasses and weeds. I happened to glance up into the sky and I saw the handwriting of God.
I ran into the house screaming for my Grandmother, for I knew that the end of the world was coming. She heard my story, smiled, and took me by the hand and lead me back outside, explaining to me what I had seen. Then I could see the tiny airplane that was writing in the sky. God wasn't doing it at all... Or was he?
"- Cow Town - I was six years old when my mother remarried a man named Guy Tackett Morris (the man that adopted me). He lived in Fort Worth, Texas. My mother called it by it's nickname "Cow Town".
"She came to Grandfield to fetch me to her new husband and our new home. The trip from Grandfield was only four hours by bus. As we entered the city she said to me "Here we are in Cow Town". I looked out the window of the bus and said "Mommy, where are all the cows?" " (Travis Morris, Cleburne, Texas, 1991 - 1994; Birth Certificate, Dept of Vital Statistics, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Birth Announcement of Travis Dee Harrison; Final Adoption Decree, # 10550-C, 153rd Judicial Distrist, 12 Dec 1958; Social Security Number: 456-66-9289; Veterans Administration Number: 26 347 337.)
Events
| Birth | August 11, 1943 | Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma | |||
| Marriage | December 28, 1966 | San Diego, San Diego County, California - Shirley Ann Hill | |||
| Marriage | February 19, 1972 | Benbrook, Tarrant County, Texas - Vivian Lee Harrison | |||
| Divorce | Shirley Ann Hill |
Families
| Spouse | Vivian Lee Harrison (1942 - ) |
| Child | Sarah Elizabeth Morris (1975 - ) |
| Child | Rebekah Catherine Morris (1976 - ) |
| Child | Laura Alison Morris (1978 - ) |
| Child | Jared Harrison Combs Morris (1981 - ) |
| Spouse | Shirley Ann Hill (1945 - ) |
| Child | Sonja Annette Morris (1967 - ) |
| Father | Guy Tackett Morris (1910 - 1977) |
| Mother | Helen Loreta "Reta" Combs (1921 - ) |