Mary Jean Morris, wife, widow, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and godmother to so many, passed away peacefully on April 11, 2024, at the remarkable age of 95 years. Known simply as “Jean” by her large, and devoted family, she was ever the rock on whom everyone in her large, extended family relied. Jean never disappointed or failed anyone. Not ever.
Jean departed this world as she lived: quietly and with dignity, to join her devoted husband of 54 years, John P. Morris, Sr. who passed away too soon in 2002, and to return home to the arms of her large Irish-Catholic family for whom she was always present and available. Jean was the first to arrive for every occasion in support of her family, especially to the difficult events like hospitals stays and funerals that others preferred to avoid.
Born on September 8, 1928, in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania in the storied and rugged Anthracite coal regions of Schuylkill County to Mae Francis Thornton and John Herbert McCarthy, who were only children whose marriage produced five children: Helen (Quinn), Jean, Jack, Jim and Patricia (McLafferty). Jean’s parents were the first generation of Irish-Catholic immigrants to be born in the United States to coal miners, industrial workers, and proud members of the working class.
Like so many members of the Greatest Generation, her birth family was first separated by the need to secure employment during the Great Depression, and later by World War II. Her father John Herbert McCarthy was a Philadelphia Police Officer, a Merchant Marine, and a Torpedoman on three U.S. Submarines, before his last assigned submarine was sunk by the Germans in the North Atlantic in 1944. Her mother Mae carried on and raised the family alone, while working for two doctors, and keeping house for her widowed father, Peter J. Thornton (Ellen Donnelly Thornton), and her children. No easy task.
Jean married John P. Morris, Sr. in 1946, who was from an even larger Irish-Catholic family, and they embarked on their own life’s adventures and journeys. They moved to Philadelphia for employment, but they never forgot their roots in Ireland or the Pennsylvania Coal Region that forged their identity, integrity, and sterling character for the rest of their lives. They were always present and loyal.
Jean and John secured employment at Lit Brother’s Department Store, where Jean became a manager, while her husband John worked as a Marker. John immediately embarked on a campaign to organize Lit Brother’s Department store for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which he accomplished successfully.
In 1955, following John’s success as an organizer, he was granted a charter by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for his own local union, Teamsters Local 115, an endeavor that demanded so much of his time and attention for the next 50 years.
Once children arrived, Jean devoted herself to her husband, children, and family as a dedicated homemaker. She spent her life caring for her children and later her grandchildren, getting them to schools, camps, and jobs, while tending to her husband’s every need.
Jean was deeply admired and appreciated by the entire family for setting a beautiful table for “company,” as she called visitors, and for making everyone feel at home. No matter the occasion or the hour, Jean had a satisfying meal prepared and ready to serve. She was the consummate hostess. She dedicated her entire life to the care and keeping of her large and extended family and was known for her role as the “family keeper.” The person who retained an encyclopedic recollection of our shared history and stories.
Jean was often asked facetiously over their 54-year marriage, why she married John. More specifically, what was she doing with him? Consistent with her loyalty and quiet demeanor, she just smiled. Without Jean to support him every step of the way, John could never have achieved his remarkable success, nor reached the very heights of the American Labor Movement. Jean knew her husband was an absolute natural and she never complained—not ever. His success was her success always.
Her husband John, once told a reporter doing a biographical story on his accomplished life, that Jean was “shy, quiet and retiring.” After interviewing Jean, the reporter said she had “much” to contribute to the article. However, “much” of that was off the record. Jean supported her husband and family unfailingly, so they could prosper and succeed on her shoulders and sacrifice.
Jean would want to be remembered for all she contributed to those who survive her: her two children, Nancy Morris, and John P. Morris, Jr. (Susan Graham Morris), nine (9) grandchildren, Paul (Denise Stavrakis) Bruhns, Carolyn Rose Conaway, John Bruhns, Julianne (Charles Bondiskey), Daniel Bruhns, Shaun Morris (Laura Blaauboer Morris), John (Dr. Alexis Cortijo-Brown Morris), Kevin (Kristen Daly Morris) Brian (Maura Noone Morris), 17 great-grandchildren, and six great-great grandchildren. And counting.
Jean Morris will never be forgotten, always missed, and remain in our hearts and minds until we are all reunited and together again.
A Mass of Christian Burial and viewing will be held on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 10:00am at St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church, her parish of over 70 years, located at 3300 Cottman Avenue, in Northeast Philadelphia, with the internment next to her husband John at Resurrection Cemetery.
