06/10/2022
A Tribute to Jerry Morris 1937-2022
In the late 1980’s, Susie and I had the great blessing of sitting at a table at the first ACS meeting at Hidden Lake Gardens with some great names in horticulture. Chub Harper, Joe Stupka, and Jerry Morris along with fellow novices Charlene and Wade Harris. That year Joe taught me how to graft. Chub, Randy Dykstra and Dennis Hermsen started brooming trips. Susie referred to us as the Baby Broomers. That winter we went west to Colorado to visit Jerry and Saunny Morris and we did this for 25 years.
We loved Jerry and Saunny, still do. Jerry was intensity personified. He ran us up and down mountains in his 60’s-80’s. Though not a cowboy, he was no one to trifle with. He was tough and you would not want to p**s him off. He mellowed as we all do with age. His range of study was the whole west, but he specialized from Vedauwoo (Cheyenne) in the north to Puebla in the south and discovered hundreds of brooms. Hundreds of Jerry’s plant selections are planted in the Denver Botanic Garden and they rever those plants. They started a movie on Jerry getting 90% done but it did not get finished when the dude left for another job. No one picked up the project and it never got completed.
People came from all over the world to see Jerry and some of his finds. When the Dutch Conifer Society showed up, I had the great honor of taking Dick van Hoey Smith, wife and daughters up the mountain in Colorado to show him what we think is a 7,000 year old Pinus aristata. On this trip down the hill, van Hoey Smith said he could die now that he has seen everything. That was something from a man I considered better traveled than anyone.
Jerry will be tough to duplicate. We have great plant people in our society. Jorg in Germany, the great Austrian broomer, and very significant Dutchmen especially Edwin Smits who is a supreme plantsman.
To all of us who obtained Jerry’s plants, what excitement. We are grateful to have known Jerry and send Saunny all our love.
Written by Rich Eyre 6/8/2022
