Clay Morris

Clay Arthur Morris of Eastland, Texas, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, August 28th, 2014, after a valiant fight against cancer. He was 75.
Clay was born on July 26th, 1939, in Protection, Kansas, to David Morris and Vera (Andersen) Morris. The youngest of three children, including sisters Helen and Francis, Clay worked on the family wheat farm while growing up in Coldwater, Kansas, a work regimen that would help him survive childhood polio without paralysis or other ill effects.
Clay graduated from Kansas State University in 1962 with a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Clay took great delight in K-State’s recent favorable record against local Big-12 teams, including his son’s and son-in-law’s alma maters.
After graduation from K-State, Clay worked in the aerospace industry, first at Martin Marietta in Denver, and later at North American Rockwell in Tulsa. While in Denver , Clay also met and married Mary Margaret “Peg” Shutner Morris in 1965.
While at Martin, Clay worked on the Titan missile program, which was used both as an ICBM weapon, as well as the lift vehicle for the Gemini space program, the latter for which Clay and Peg lived briefly in Cocoa Beach while Clay worked at the Cape Canaveral.
Following working on the Titan missile program, Clay and Peg moved to Seattle where Clay was an engineer “on loan” to Boeing for the development of the 747. Clay specifically worked on the jumbo jet’s braking system.
Clay and Peg returned to Denver in the late 1960s where Clay became involved in the petroleum industry. Attending the University of Denver College of Law at night, Clay earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) in 1970. The family moved to Houston in 1970 where Clay combined his engineering and law degrees as a Patent Attorney for Shell Oil Company. While at Shell, Clay was awarded a patent in 1973 for a new method to thermally cut tubing in collapsed oil wells.
Clay and family moved to Eastland, Texas, in 1976, where Clay managed operations for Sunbelt Energy and provided engineering consulting services. In the mid 1990s Clay started his own companies CAM Services and BAM Operating, managing them until his death.
During the most recent years, Clay attended the First Baptist Church in Eastland, where he benefitted greatly from the fellowship and support of the congregation.
Clay is survived by his wife, Peg Morris, his daughter Melissa Morris Reid and her husband, Don, grandchildren Anna and Kathryn of Keller, Texas, his son John Morris and wife, Jamie, and grandchildren Thomas and Claire, of Evanston, Illinois. Clay is also survived by his sister Francis Morris Sanford and nieces Penny, Wendy, Barbara, and Shari.
Clay is preceded in death by his father and mother, David and Vera Morris, his sister Helen Morris Asay, and his beloved and faithful dog Duffy.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or your favorite charity.