Ruth M. (Hayes) Morris, age 92, passed away peacefully following a brief illness on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009 at the Indian River Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Granville.
She was born on Dec. 2, 1916 in Danby, Vt., the daughter of Asa J. and Ola (Philips) Hayes.
Mrs. Morris was member of the Granville Baptist Church family in Granville.
Mrs. Morris was a graduate of Granville High School.
Mrs. Morris and her husband, Alfred C. Morris, were united in marriage in 1934 and celebrated their 52nd anniversary before his death on Feb. 28, 1986.
She was an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross during WWII. Her long career in the nursing field in Granville started when she was employed for the Emma Lang Stevens Hospital as a nurse’s aid. Mrs. Morris obtained her Licensed Practical Nursing diploma, and then at the age of 57, graduated from Adirondack Community Collage as a Registered Nurse with an Associates Degree.
Mrs. Morris and her husband, Alfred, started their first healthcare-provided home in the Granville area in 1950 with five patients on the corner of Elm Street and Norton Street. She then acquired and expanded the business on Lincoln Street, naming it Indian River Nursing Home. In 1970, she and her husband built a new facility on 17 Madison Street in Granville, renaming it Indian River Health Facility. She was the proprietor and administrator of that facility until her retirement. After building the new facility, she turned the former facility into the Indian River Adult Home. They acquired the Emma Lang Stevens Hospital on North Street in Granville in 1979 and converted it into Hillview Adult Home. The adult care facilities closed in November of 1999.
She was a former member of the Business and Professional Women’s Group of Granville, the New York State Health Facilities Association, the Empire State Association of Adult Homes, and the Granville Chamber of Commerce.
Besides her parents and her husband, she is predeceased by one son, Alfred R. “Buddy” Morris, who passed away in 1944. She is also predeceased by two brothers, Raymond A. Hayes and Walter J. Hayes.
Survivors include her four sons, Asa J. and his wife Shirley Morris of Comstock, Richard W. Morris and his significant other, Mary Jane Ives, of Granville, Joseph W. Morris of Albany, and Daniel L. and his wife Kristine Morris of Wells, Vt. and Florida; one sister, Irene M. Bogart; one brother, Philip A. Hayes of Wells, Vt.; 20 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Services were held on Sunday, Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. at the Robert M. King Funeral Home, 23 Church Street, Granville, with Rev. James Peterson, pastor of the Granville Baptist Church, officiating. Burial will be held in the spring in Mettowee Valley Cemetery, Granville.
Friends were invited to call on Sunday from 1 p.m. until the time of the services at the funeral home.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made in her memory to the American Heart Association of Northeastern New York, 440 New Karner Road Albany, NY 12205 or to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Upstate New York Chapter, 1650 South Ave., Suite 100, Rochester, NY 14620-3901