Dr. David Morton

Dr. David Caldwell Morton, age 91, of Clarksville, Tennessee, passed away on Thursday, August 15, 2024

The Celebration of Life will be at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at First Baptist Church of Clarksville, with Dr. Ronny Raines officiating. The family will receive friends on Monday, August 19, 2024, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., also at First Baptist Church.

David, “Daddy Dave” to his grandchildren and family, was born in Maryville, Tennessee, to Charles Vinson and Nellie Caldwell Morton. He loved the Smoky Mountains, where he grew up hiking, hunting, horseback riding, and camping for days at a time.

At Maryville High School, David was captain of the football team, an accomplished classical pianist (playing piano was his mother’s condition for playing football, which was good motivation), and a member of the Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America.

The best part, though, was meeting Betty. He later wrote, “When I started my freshman year in high school, the best-looking girl I had ever seen moved to town. Betty Currens turned the school upside down. Everyone wanted to date her.” But Betty wanted to date David. When they were 14, she asked him to a Sadie Hawkins dance. They celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary in June. He loved Betty and their daughters, Missy and Margaret, more than anything in the world.

After marrying, David went to the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry. He and Betty later moved to Clarksville, where he practiced dentistry for 37 years.

David and Betty joined First Baptist Church in 1959, and David went on to serve as a deacon, sing in the choir and barbershop quartet, teach Sunday School, serve on the search committee for Worship Pastor Pat Van Dyke, serve on the Endowment Fund and Organ Committee, and help establish the Good Samaritan Ministry, which has now provided medical and dental care to uninsured patients for 40 years.

David was an avid golfer and longstanding member of the Blackjack Hunting and Fishing Club at Reelfoot Lake. After retirement, he embraced being a grandparent, attending countless golf and tennis matches, baseball games, and cross-country races. He wrote that “those were some of the best days of my life.”

To know David was to love him. He was unfailingly positive and cared deeply for other people. When he met someone, he would often say “It’s wonderful to know you!” and truly meant it. He will be missed more than we can say.

Survivors include his beloved wife Betty Morton; children Melissa Morton Reece (Ted) and Margaret Morton Ritchie (Wayne); grandchildren Alan Reece(Megan), David Reece (Anna Beth), Natalie Ritchie (Jacob), and Robert Ritchie; great-grandchildren Warner, Fitz, Holland, and Felix; and brother, Charles Morton. He was predeceased by his parents and brother Richard Morton.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Neal Bateman, Bill Kleeman, Wayne Long, Reginald Lowe, Daniel Nolan, Johnny Peay, Jack Turner, and John Wright.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the First Baptist Church of Clarksville Endowment Fund or Good Samaritan Ministry (fbct.org/goodsam), 435 Madison Street, Clarksville, TN 37040.

Arrangements are in the care of McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home,1209 Madison Street, Clarksville, Tennessee. Online condolences may be made to Dr. Morton’s family at NaveFuneralHomes.com.