Mark Franklin Morss

Morss Mark Franklin Morss, died on September 5, 2015, at Kobacker House in Columbus. He was 68. A longtime Clintonville resident, Mark was born in Mercer, Pennsylvania. He grew up mainly in rural Geauga County; Evanston, Illinois; and northern Franklin County, close to the Highbanks and the Olentangy River. He graduated from Worthington High School, where he was a serious student, especially of Latin, acted in several plays, and helped lead the debate team to a state championship. He attended William and Mary College and, after starting his family, obtained his bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University while serving in the Air Force in Biloxi, Mississippi. He went on to study economics at Ohio State University, where he received his master's degree and completed the coursework for a doctorate. From 1981 until 2010 he had a distinguished career as an energy and risk analyst at American Electric Power. While working, he also taught introductory economics for several years at Franklin University. Mark had a lifelong passion for chess. His great powers of concentration and capacity for strategic and creative thinking helped him achieve a rating of Master as a tournament player. He also developed a rigorous and successful chess program at Indianola Informal Elementary. For seventeen years he mentored dozens of scholastic chess players. Mark's students have gone on to play chess competitively, create new school chess programs, and apply the skills they learned in other fields. Mark was a person of many talents and enthusiasms. He was an excellent cook and a connoisseur of fine wine. He was an accomplished poet. He loved art and music, and exploring the outdoors. He was an avid player (and sometimes a designer) of games. He read deeply in history, philosophy, literature, and current affairs. He was a lifelong political activist with a strong sense of social justice. He also traveled widely in the United States and Europe, and was especially fond of France and the Great Lakes. For all of these passions, nothing meant more to Mark than his family. He was a devoted husband and an attentive and inspiring father. He is survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Betty Anne of Columbus; his sons, Matthew (Kristen Keane) of Cincinnati and Ethan (Geraldine Diver) of Seattle; his mother, Marjorie of Columbus; his sister, Martha (Jeff Putnam) of Mount Vernon; and his brother, Bob (Kathleen Whalin) of Sanford, Maine. He leaves a grandson, Ezra Diver-Morss, age five. He was preceded in death by his father Robert D. Morss. Mark will be dearly missed by all who knew him for his brilliant mind, his interesting and informed conversation, his strongly held opinions, his hearty laugh, and his great gusto for life. The family plans a celebration of Mark's life at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the ALS Association, Southern and Central Ohio Chapter.