Walter R. Morrow O.D.

1949 - 2024

Walter R. Morrow, O.D.

Dr. Walter R. Morrow, an optometrist, who practiced nearly four decades in Northwest Ohio, died peacefully at his South Toledo home, Wednesday, October 23, 2024. He was 75.

Walter Raymond Morrow was born February 9, 1949, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He was the second surviving child born to William H. and Helen Wilson Morrow. His mother died in 1960; his father remarried, and the blended family moved to Burton, Ohio, where Walt entered seventh grade. He graduated from Burton (renamed Berkshire) High School in 1967, and attended Ohio University as a pre-optometry student, majoring in biology. He was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, who met Jeannie Stevers when the fraternity was paired with her sorority to build a 1968 homecoming float. They wed July 3, 1971, in the campus chapel.

Walt graduated with his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry, in May 1976, then passed the Illinois and Arizona licensing exams. He worked for a year and a half in metropolitan Chicago before acquiring the practice of the only optometrist in Rock Falls, located in rural North Central Illinois, near Iowa. Walt passed the Ohio optometric licensing exam in 1983, sold his practice the next fall, and moved the family, that now included three sons, to Lucas County in October 1984. Walt continued to provide exceptional patient care for the next 39 years, including running his own private practice from 1990-1995, before joining the Bowling Green Walmart Vision Center for the remainder of his career.

Walt was a "car guy" and a "tool guy" who knew he could have earned a living with the skills he learned from his father, but he felt he was born to be an optometrist. Aside from work, Walt had many interests during life, including the woodworking he'd taken up in his 50s. His camera and video camera were always at hand to capture family birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions. He said the most fun he ever had was raising three boys, of whom he was immensely proud.

Walt is survived by his wife, Jeannie; sons, Jeffrey S. and Kelly Yeager Morrow, and their daughters Avery and Devon, William Judson Morrow and Bruce S. Temkin, Brooklyn, New York, Daniel O. Morrow, MD, and Charliegh Jo Haas, Plain City, Ohio; sister and brother-in-law Donna and William Bruni, Hawthorne, Nevada, and Donna's three daughters. Also surviving are Jeannie's siblings, Charles H. (Chip) and Diana Stevers, Rockford, Michigan, Charles and Nancy Stevers Chlebik, Meadview, Arizona, Thomas O. Stevers and son Rhett.

The family will receive guests Friday, November 1 from 2 – 8 p.m. at Newcomer Southwest Chapel, 4752 Heatherdowns Blvd. The funeral service will begin 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, followed by private burial. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions made directly to the donor's favorite organization that aids people, especially veterans and hurricane victims, or animals in distress.

To share a memory or leave a message for the family, please visit the guestbook for Walter R Morrow, O.D., at www.NewcomerToledo.com.

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