Oriel C. Morris M.D.

MORRIS, M.D. , Oriel C. On Sunday, September 2, 2012, Oriel C. Morris, M.D., passed peacefully at her home in Arlington, VA, at the age of 89, surrounded by family, following a battle with lung cancer. Born in Brisbane, Australia, the daughter of the late Bernard Flewell-Smith and Mary Ethel Carlin (Molly) Darling. She grew up on her parents' pineapple farm, and earned her medical degree from the University of Queensland in 1945. A 'war bride,' she met her future husband, the late Murrell Pinckney Morris, during World War II while she was a medical student and he was a US Army officer stationed in Australia. Married in 1944 in Brisbane, Oriel came to the United States on the Mariposa, a war bride ship. After her husband completed his PhD at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, they moved to Puerto Rico in 1950. Oriel practiced medicine in Mayaguez, PR from 1955 to 1959 while raising three daughters. Moving to Arlington, VA in 1959, she completed a residency in internal medicine at Doctors Hospital in Washington, DC in 1961. A board-certified family practitioner, she practiced medicine for over 25 years at Group Health Association, a pioneer HMO in Washington, DC. Predeceased by her husband, Murrell, in 1974 and his sister Hazel Garland in 1989, Oriel resided in her Arlington home for the rest of her life. She leaves behind three daughters to cherish her memory: Carlin Timmons (Clyde) of Sullivan's Island, SC, Emelyn
Morris-Sayre (Jim) of Lakewood, CO and Margaret Weiss, MD (Robert) of Baltimore, MD; nine grand-children, Eden Fonvielle (Don Whitley), Murrell, Joel and Daniel (Susan DeFreitas) Timmons, Chris (Ruth) and Josh (Courtney) Duncan, Michael (Vivian Fenstermaker MD), David (Gillian) and Jonathan Weiss; and three great-grandchildren, Colin Duncan, Margaret and
Peter Weiss. Survivors also include family in Australia, her brother Peter Flewell-Smith of Perth, Western Australia and her sister Elizabeth Eden of Goomburger, Queensland; her namesake niece Oriel Flewell-Smith and son Lachlan of Melbourne, Victoria and other nieces and nephews and their families. Also survived by nieces and nephews in Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, and Arkansas. During her long and happy life, Oriel enjoyed tennis, travel, cultural arts and family. A vibrant and active nonsmoker, Oriel won first place in mixed doubles tennis in the 80-84 year old age group at the 2003 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics. She made the most of the cultural offerings in the Washington area and annually at Spoleto in Charleston, SC. For 30 years she supported annual family reunions on Pawley's Island, SC, where her offspring could renew and deepen the love and joy that is her legacy.
Friends are invited to a celebration of her life at her home in Arlington, VA on Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 2 pm . In lieu of flowers, donations in Oriel's memory can be made to: Doctors Without Borders USA, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030; Planned Parenthood, Washington DC Metropolitan Chapter, Administrative Office, 1108 16th Street, NW,Washington, DC 20036; or Capital Caring Hospice Services, 2900 Telestar Ct., Falls Church, VA 22042.