Mary Miles Morrison

1930 - 2019

Mary Miles Morrison

May 13, 1930 - Oct 13, 2019

Mary Morrison died October 13, 2019 peacefully at home in Ke Kailani on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii. She was a devoted wife and mother, passionate writer, intellectual and lover of dogs. Mary was born in Duluth, Minn. in 1930. She grew up in Los Angeles, where she attended Marlborough School for Girls, then graduated in 1952 from Stanford University, where she received a bachelor of arts from the Creative Writing Center, headed by writer Wallace Stegner. She met her husband Robert Bremner at Stanford and the couple settled in the Bay Area to raise their family. Bob, an airline executive, died young in 1967. In 1974, Mary married Richard C. Morrison, M.D. (1914-2007) of San Mateo, Ca. Together they undertook the adventure of a lifetime on their 42' sailboat, starting at Coyote Point in the San Francisco Bay, and roaming the Pacific for five years before settling to live in French Polynesia for a decade. In 1992 Mary and Dick moved to Puako on the Big Island of Hawaii. After Dick died, Mary moved to nearby Ke Kailani.
Mary was a gracious, understated, giving person who had a lifelong love of writing. She is best known for Puako: An Affectionate History, winner of the Historic Preservation Honor Award of the Historic Hawai'i Foundation. Mary was also smart, funny and warm. She entertained a constant stream of family and friends and always had a dog or two under foot. She was quietly philanthropic, supporting the Bishop's Museum, Hawaii Community Foundation, North Hawaii Community Hospital, Hokaloa Church and many other charities and institutions.
She is survived by sons Robert (Nancy) Bremner and James (Anne Bruner) Bremner, daughter Elizabeth (Karen Crow) Bremner, and stepsons Angus (Gail) Morrison and Rory Morrison; stepdaughter Mirra (David Cunningham) Morrison; cousin Peggy Arnone; and numerous grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as many other loving family members and friends. The family extends its gratitude to Mary's exceptional caregivers Kaipo Sylva and Lisa McMoyler. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be sent to the charity of your choice. Private services have been held in Puako.