John Horton Morrison
1933 - 2026
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John Horton Morrison died peacefully in his Evanston home on March 12, 2026. He was 92. A consummate organizer, networker, and fundraiser, John shared himself, his skills and his expertise generously with people, organizations, and institutions across many spheres.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 27, at 2:00 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, where John was a devoted member and ordained Elder. The service will be live streamed.
As a kid, John fell in love with stamps. This early love – foreign people, places and cultures – expanded into a lifelong passion for travel, new challenges and new relationships.
Though his life ended not too far from where it began, his road between was well-traveled.
At Sheboygan North High School, the combination of championship debater, Eagle Scout and valedictorian earned him a Navy ROTC Scholarship to the University of New Mexico (UNM). John's time there secured many friends and honors, including as a member of the Hall of Fame of the Anderson School of Management and as a Significant Sig (Sigma Chi).
His time in the Southwest earned him a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he completed a BA and a MA in jurisprudence at University College. This first true taste of international travel was just the beginning.
After Oxford, John was commissioned a Naval Officer and joined the first crew on the USS Hassayampa in the Pacific Fleet. He set sail from Pearl Harbor to several destinations including New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan.
Back Stateside, John earned his law degree at Harvard and joined the Chicago firm of Kirkland & Ellis. He built a 40-year career – from antitrust litigator to partner and conflicts manager. He took great pride in having argued before the United States Supreme Court.
It was during this time that John and Barbara embarked on their 62-year marriage and created a home and family in Evanston. His love and admiration never wavered for his daughters, Marny, Melanie and Meredith, and his grandchildren, Claire, Jack, Emmett, Riley, Kendall, Zoe and Araya. His love for Chicago blossomed particularly through its Symphony, its museums and his beloved University Club.
The greatest intersection of John's passions was his leadership of the International Bar Association (IBA) legal education programs. Beginning in 1987, John contributed his expertise for nearly forty years to countries and causes that critically needed it. Whether the need was a new Constitution or a free and fair judicial system, John went to help. He organized IBA leadership programs in places as diverse as Lesotho and Mongolia and on all continents except Antarctica, sharing some of those journeys with his children and grandchildren.
He considered his application for a Rhodes Scholarship to be a "small decision" that made perhaps the greatest impact on his life. Of his many associations, he was most closely and deeply aligned with Oxford University and the Rhodes Trust. His work on their behalf brought the honor of Queen Elizabeth II awarding him the Order of the British Empire. In the days preceding his death, John remained hard at work, for the 61st year, organizing the 84th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race Dinner in Chicago.
The famous saying has it that as one door closes, another opens. John kept every door open. His relationships deepened and endured, whether it was family, his elementary school pals, UNM, Harvard, or Oxford classmates, church and community members, travel companions, neighbors, or the USPS clerk down at the Central Street Post Office.
John believed that "growing up never ends; learning and social relationships carry on for a lifetime." He lived that motto. His final advice for all was to "love and be loved, beginning to end." Well, John, you were loved, beginning to end.
John is survived by his wife, Barbara Bauman Morrison, and their daughters Marny Turvill of Evanston, Melanie (James) Sweeney of Shaker Heights, OH, and Meredith Morrison of Whately, MA, and grandchildren Claire and Jack Turvill; Emmett, Riley and Kendall Sweeney; and Zoe and Araya Morrison. He is also survived by his sister, Margery (James) Price of Kohler, WI, and her extended family. He was predeceased by his parents, James and Harriet Morrison, his twin granddaughters, Isabelle and Annabelle Sweeney, and his son-in-law, Ian H. Turvill.
In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family requests you consider a donation to either:
The Rhodes Trust: https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/potential/give-now/
Northminster Presbyterian Church: https://onrealm.org/northminpres/-/form/give/default
A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 27, at 2:00 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, where John was a devoted member and ordained Elder. The service will be live streamed.
As a kid, John fell in love with stamps. This early love – foreign people, places and cultures – expanded into a lifelong passion for travel, new challenges and new relationships.
Though his life ended not too far from where it began, his road between was well-traveled.
At Sheboygan North High School, the combination of championship debater, Eagle Scout and valedictorian earned him a Navy ROTC Scholarship to the University of New Mexico (UNM). John's time there secured many friends and honors, including as a member of the Hall of Fame of the Anderson School of Management and as a Significant Sig (Sigma Chi).
His time in the Southwest earned him a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he completed a BA and a MA in jurisprudence at University College. This first true taste of international travel was just the beginning.
After Oxford, John was commissioned a Naval Officer and joined the first crew on the USS Hassayampa in the Pacific Fleet. He set sail from Pearl Harbor to several destinations including New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan.
Back Stateside, John earned his law degree at Harvard and joined the Chicago firm of Kirkland & Ellis. He built a 40-year career – from antitrust litigator to partner and conflicts manager. He took great pride in having argued before the United States Supreme Court.
It was during this time that John and Barbara embarked on their 62-year marriage and created a home and family in Evanston. His love and admiration never wavered for his daughters, Marny, Melanie and Meredith, and his grandchildren, Claire, Jack, Emmett, Riley, Kendall, Zoe and Araya. His love for Chicago blossomed particularly through its Symphony, its museums and his beloved University Club.
The greatest intersection of John's passions was his leadership of the International Bar Association (IBA) legal education programs. Beginning in 1987, John contributed his expertise for nearly forty years to countries and causes that critically needed it. Whether the need was a new Constitution or a free and fair judicial system, John went to help. He organized IBA leadership programs in places as diverse as Lesotho and Mongolia and on all continents except Antarctica, sharing some of those journeys with his children and grandchildren.
He considered his application for a Rhodes Scholarship to be a "small decision" that made perhaps the greatest impact on his life. Of his many associations, he was most closely and deeply aligned with Oxford University and the Rhodes Trust. His work on their behalf brought the honor of Queen Elizabeth II awarding him the Order of the British Empire. In the days preceding his death, John remained hard at work, for the 61st year, organizing the 84th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race Dinner in Chicago.
The famous saying has it that as one door closes, another opens. John kept every door open. His relationships deepened and endured, whether it was family, his elementary school pals, UNM, Harvard, or Oxford classmates, church and community members, travel companions, neighbors, or the USPS clerk down at the Central Street Post Office.
John believed that "growing up never ends; learning and social relationships carry on for a lifetime." He lived that motto. His final advice for all was to "love and be loved, beginning to end." Well, John, you were loved, beginning to end.
John is survived by his wife, Barbara Bauman Morrison, and their daughters Marny Turvill of Evanston, Melanie (James) Sweeney of Shaker Heights, OH, and Meredith Morrison of Whately, MA, and grandchildren Claire and Jack Turvill; Emmett, Riley and Kendall Sweeney; and Zoe and Araya Morrison. He is also survived by his sister, Margery (James) Price of Kohler, WI, and her extended family. He was predeceased by his parents, James and Harriet Morrison, his twin granddaughters, Isabelle and Annabelle Sweeney, and his son-in-law, Ian H. Turvill.
In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family requests you consider a donation to either:
The Rhodes Trust: https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/potential/give-now/
Northminster Presbyterian Church: https://onrealm.org/northminpres/-/form/give/default
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Horton Morrison, please visit our flower store.
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