Bernard Morris, 99
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. â€' Bernard Morris, 99, of Stratton Road, Williamstown, died peacefully at home on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010. He was the longtime innkeeper of The Inn on Laurel Lake in Lee.
Born in Manchester, England on Sept. 14, 1910, he was the son of Saul and Jane Rachel Morris Blashkey. He emigrated from England to New York City in 1927, joining his older sister and brothers who owned a hardware business in Brooklyn. He graduated from City College of New York, majoring in mathematics and classics, and in 1940 he became a U.S. citizen.
When Mr. Morris first visited the Berkshires, he knew he wanted to move here permanently. In 1947, he purchased the inn and moved here with his family. The inn, and Mr. Morris, enjoyed a large and devoted summer following for 50 years, said family, filled with rich memories, stories and an extended family of guests. He and his wife, Jean Russell-Morris, sold the inn in 1995 and retired to Williamstown.
He loved being a "master" innkeeper, as he coined it, and relished literature, conversation, collecting classical music, morning swims in Laurel Lake, playing tennis and following baseball (the Dodgers, then later the Mets, and within the last 10 ten years, the Red Sox). He and his wife also enjoyed traveling in the off-season. He will be greatly missed.
Besides his loving wife, he leaves a daughter, Rachel Carey and her husband, James, of Brookline; four stepchildren, John Tunnicliffe of Stockbridge, Ruth Tunnicliffe of Williamstown, Jane Stine and her husband, James, of Queensbury, N.Y., and Sheila Mason and her husband, Toby, of Hancock; a grandson, Damien Carey of Brookline, his former wife, Eileen Morris of Lake Worth, Fla., and cousins and nieces.
He was predeceased by another grandson, Aaron Carey.
FUNERAL NOTICE — There will be no services for Mr. Morris. The family will hold a private celebration of his life in the spring. Memorial contributions may be made to VNA & Hospice of Northern Berkshire in care of Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, MA 01247.