Kenneth Douglas Morris

My dad, K. D., as everyone called him, would have given the shirt off his back to anyone that needed it. He loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren more than life itself. He always worked two jobs, so my mom would be home with us.

That's was the best thing for us, having a parent home. He worked hard and the first time he saw the newest grandbaby, he would roll up a $100.00 bill and put it in their hands. My daughter held her first $100.00 bill when she was five weeks old.

When the first great-grandchild came along, he had retired, lost sight in his right eye from glaucoma and didn't drive anymore. Erin turned a year old and not wanting to put her in daycare, he decided to keep her. He kept her, potty trained her and would take her outside to play. When he would bring her in from outside, his eyes had to adjust to the difference in the light, but he had her trained to stand still until his eyes adjusted so he could see her. She always called him, her 'best friend', and he was. We used to pick at him about keeping her, but not being able to see her.

We lost him three years ago to an abdominal aneurysm, so sudden. When we were ask to donate his bone and tissue, of course we let the deciding vote be my mother, but none of the three children hesitated. He would have given his skin away when he has living, if anyone needed it. He would stop on Sunday visits to my grandmother's, to pull someone out of a mud hole, never left anyone in a bind. He was a very giving man and the one thing that he taught us was the value of hard work.

He didn't see some of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren much in the end, but the one's he did see, he cherished every minute. He had nicknames for each one and would always be ready for a hug, saying, "God love them" every time.

I miss him terribly, but knowing that a child that needs a skin graft from a burn or an elderly person needing a bone graft, lets me think of the ways he is still giving.

Thank you for letting me introduce my 'HERO', K. D. Morris

His daughter, Cathey