David Hal Morris Jr.

David Hal Morris, Jr. September 27, 1917 – December 23, 2012 David was born September 27, 1917, in New York City. His father, David Hal Sr., had already established himself as a distinguished painter of early aviation and steamboat river history. His mother Eva was also an accomplished artist. David's early years were spent in Cleveland and Chicago where his father served as a newspaper artist and senior graphic designer. Hal Sr. was featured in Who's Who in the 1920s. Following high school, he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago and became influenced by several renowned artists and instructors specializing in watercolors including Francis Shook. While at the Art Institute in 1941, he met Evelyn Hassenberg, also an art design student at the Institute. David was called into military service from 1942 -1945 and served as a technical sergeant in the US Army Corps of Engineers as a topographic cartographer at the War College in Washington DC. Evelyn served as an engineer, drafting engineering drawings of naval guns for use in the upcoming war. David and Evelyn were married August 1942 at a chapel on the University of Chicago campus. David has three sons, Richard, born 1943; Gary, born 1944; and Brian, born 1954. During the early family years David and Evelyn lived in suburbs near Chicago while David directed the art department at the Chicago Sun Times Newspaper. His father also worked at the Times, retiring at age 92. Later, David managed the national advertising campaigns for a major furniture company, retiring at age 62 in 1979 and relocating with Evy to Sedona, Arizona, a scenic and emerging art center in the west. David continued his love of art and history his entire life. He has exhibited in many juried art shows around the country, winning a number of awards. His landscape, historic steam railroad and riverboat and architectural art is presently in the hands of collectors from nearly every state. David was a charter member of the Society of Steam Artists of America in Sedona, and featured in Arizona Highways magazine. He was active in the Sedona Art Guild. He was invited to celebrate a railroad historical exhibition at the Museum of Science & Industry of Chicago and in Las Vegas to commemorate historic railroads and also a show at the Boston State House, among many other distinguished showings. David and Evy moved to Grand Junction in 1989 and became actively involved in the local art community and model railroad groups. They were active members of the American Lutheran Church and he was in the Stephens Ministry. Evy became ill and passed away in 2002. David remained close to his three sons and his art and recently transcribed the Morris family history that seemed predestined to art in a three-volume monograph emphasizing family art dating back to the 1700s. David died of natural causes and is survived by his three sons; seven grandchildren, John, Chris, Jessica, Natalie, Abigail, Jennifer and Bradley, and one great-grandchild, Tristan.