Dr. George Alan Morris III's Obituary
George Alan Morris III M.D., 84, passed away at home on December 31, 2019 after a short battle with leukemia. He was born September 3, 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee to Caroline Hogue Morris and George Alan Morris Jr. A graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Dr. Morris went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Tennessee in 1960. After completing his surgical internship at Charity Hospital of Louisiana in 1961, Dr. Morris served as a Lt. Comdr. Flight Surgeon for the United States Navy from 1962 to 1965. He had learned to fly while in college and flew his own private plane, seaplanes, gliders and his own hot air balloon for many years. Upon completion of service he entered the orthopaedic surgery residency program at Bowman Gray North Carolina Baptist Hospital Medical School in Winston Salem, North Carolina. His love of the water brought him to Clearwater where he started his private orthopaedic surgical practice in 1968, growing the practice into what is now today Orthopaedic Specialties of Tampa Bay. Dr. Morris joined the staff of Morton Plant Hospital in 1965, serving in many different capacities and on numerous committees until his retirement in 2016. Perhaps his greatest achievement, and certainly the nearest and dearest to his heart, is the program established in his name, the Dr. George Morris Earn as You Learn Nursing Education Program. This program was established to attract and retain the highest quality nursing team and provides participants the opportunity and support to attend nursing school, while gaining clinical experience by working part time at a Morton Plant Mease Hospital. A lover of all things outdoors, his life motto was "if you're not living on the edge, you're not living!" Dr. Morris truly loved the practice of medicine and devoted his life to taking care of his patients. A true and loyal friend, he will be sorely missed. Dr. Morris is survived by his wife DeeDee Noel Morris, Belleair Bluffs, daughter Cody Morris Haydon, grandson John "Hogue" Haydon, and twin granddaughters, Caroline Bennett Haydon and Charlotte Brooks Haydon, Belleair. One brother, Wilson Morris of Savannah, Georgia, niece Caroline Wei (John Wei, Elias Wei) of Austin, Texas, and nephew Giles Morris (Bethany Butler, Lyle Morris, Seneca Morris) of Charlottesville, VA. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 701 Orange Avenue, Clearwater, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hogue Haydon Scholarship Fund of the Dr. George Morris Earn as You Learn Program through the Morton Plant Mease Foundation, 1200 Druid Road South, Clearwater, FL 33756, (727) 462-7036.
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