PERSONAL MUSIC HISTORY

• Junior High and High School Bands
• High School ROTC Band
• University of Tennesee at Knoxville Orchestra - 1 year

BANDS/GROUPS I HAVE PLAYED OR AM PLAYING IN

• Brookhaven Jazz Band 1 year
• Town North Concert Band 12 years
• Plano Community Band 15 years
• *Richardson Community Band 17 years
• *Wylie Community Band 2 years
• *Wylie Community Jazz Big Band 1 year
• *New Horizons Dallas Band 2 Years
• Dance Band - US Air Force-1 year
• *Frohsinn Kapelle German Band 10 Years
• First Baptist Church Richardson Orchestra 10 Years, Brass Ensemble 4 years
• Prestonwood Baptist Church Orchestra and Choir 20 Years

CAREER/RETIREMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• BSEE University of Tennessee Knoxville
• MBA SMU
• Employment - Collins Radio Company - Project Engineer - 6 years
• F&M Systems Co.- Project Enginner - 11 Years
• Mobil Oil Corp - Senior Staff Engineer - 16 Years
• TXU - Project Engineer - 9 Years
• *Registered Professional Engineer - Texas since 1965

FAMILY

• 2 daughters, Michelle and Sandra
• Sandra - BSCE,Texas A&M University, MCRP, University of Texas, Austin, Senior Manager of legal and Regulatory - Direct Energy
• Michelle - BSCE,Texas A&M University, MCRP, University of California, Berkeley Thompson Engineering Co.. Registered Profesional Engineer, Texas

INTERESTS/HOBBIES

• Music, Photography, Woodworking, Ham Radio

OTHER

• When I was in high school I worked part time at a recording studio. The owner, Sam Phillips, said if he could ever find a white man that could sing like a black man that he would have it made. One day a man came in to the studio wanting to make a record for his mother. His name was Elvis Presley. Sam's record label was Sun Records.
• Military: I have worn the uniform of all four services.
- US Army ROTC - 3 years in High School - Honor Guard for the King and Queen of the week-long Memphis Cotton Carnival.
- US Naval Reserve - Two years of week-end training on the Mississippi River with WWII vessels.
- US Air Force - Four years active duty - Assigned to Airways and Air Communications Service detachments world wide to provide Air Route Traffic Control, Control Tower Services, Ground Controlled Approach Radar, and Ground Navigational Aids for US Military Aircraft.
- US Coast Guard Auxiliary - Seven years - performing boating safety training, inspections and safety patrols on area rivers and lakes.

OBITUARY
In Loving Memory of Robert “Bob” Byron Morris January 12, 1932 – August 29, 2026

Robert “Bob” Morris, whose life was marked by service, creativity, and music, passed away peacefully on August 29, 2026, at the age of 94. Born on January 12, 1932, Bob’s early years were during the depression in Bells, Tennessee.

As a boy, Bob moved to Memphis, where his love of music took root. He began playing the cornet in the 6th grade and continued making music into his 90s, performing with as many as five different bands until the pandemic. In Memphis, he interned at Sun Radio under the famous Sam Phillips who discovered Elvis. His deep love of music remained a lifelong joy, culminating in decades of performances, from hymns with church choirs and orchestras, to Sousa marches with the Richardson Community Band to spirited tunes in an Oompah band, complete with lederhosen.

Bob’s early ingenuity showed in his childhood woodworking: salvaging crates from grocery stores to build projects with the nails and wood he collected. That inventive spirit carried through his entire life. He served in the ROTC in high school, the US Navy and then the US Air Force, where he discovered a passion for radio and telecommunications.

Thanks to the GI Bill, Bob earned his electrical engineering degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, setting the stage for a career that spanned the globe. He was a registered Professional Engineering since 1965.

He met his wife of 30 years, Kathryn at Park Cities Baptist Church shortly after college graduation. Together they built a life centered on faith and family at Wilshire Baptist Church and then First Baptist Church Richardson.

Bob’s career was as adventurous as it was impressive. Early in his career, he was a pioneer in the use of microwave transmission for educational television, including at the University of Texas, Ausin. He helped wire the secret communications bunker beneath Camp David, once working from Henry Kissinger’s desk.

While traveling, he provided telecom expertise on oil rigs off the coast of Canada, at a naval station in Puerto Rico, and across Central Texas, often climbing radio towers himself. His employers included Collins Radio, F&M Systems, Mobil Pipeline and TXU Electric. He also served in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, often with his family aboard their boat on Lake Lewisville.

In retirement, Bob played trumpet in multiple ensembles. He stayed active with amateur radio (Ham), helping with emergency preparedness, and even refurbished for his grandsons the changing table he originally built for his daughters.

Bob is survived by his two daughters, Sandra Morris and Michelle Morris Brubaker (Gary) and three grandsons John Brubaker, Mark Brubaker, and Daniel Brubaker who brought him great joy. He is predeceased by his mother, Mary Lou (Boling) Morris and father, Robert McKell Morris. His quiet strength, sharp mind, and enduring kindness touched all who knew him.

A memorial service will be held at the Wildwood Chapel at Restland Funeral Home at 13005 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX on Friday, September 11, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, for those that wish to make a contribution to a cause close to Bob’s heart, we recommend the Richardson Community Band or Texans on a Mission. Flowers are also welcome and may be sent to Restland Funeral Home.