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VESTNiK SPJST Herald Official PubliCation Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas, Founded 1897 BROTHERHOOD
HUMANITY
BENEVOLENCE
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 to: SPJST Home Office, P. 0. Box 100, Temple, Texas 76503 ISSN-07458800 VOLUME 85 NUMBER 50
December 31, 1997
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SPJST members and friends mourn loss of past President Nick A. Morris
175, Rosenberg Gives to Czech Center Lodge 175, Recta Chandler, left, president of the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center, Inc., accepts $5,000 check from the members of SPJST Lodge 175, Rosenberg. The lodge made the presentation at The Czech Gala, a fund raising dinner and dance for the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center held on November 30, 1997 at the K of C Community Center in La Grange. Making the presentation on behalf of Lodge 175, Rosenberg were, from left: Lodge President Pat Parma, Secretary-Treasurer Frank Parma and Vice President Julius Tupa. (See related items on pages 7 and 13,)
Contributions to SPJST scholarship drive top $6,000 through third week in December Contributions to the SPJST's 1997 100 Pennies Scholarhsip Drive totaled $6,291.42 through the third week in December. To express thanks and acknowledge these gifts, a listing of recent contributors follows. The names of contributors giving $50 or more are printed in bold type. Lydia Alholm Alicia Boenisch Candace Boenisch Denise Boenisch Misty Boenisch Paxton Davis Rhenda Dickerson Gary Eskelson William Fuller Dustin Harrison Amanda Hermis Dennis Hermis Elizabeth Hermis Jason Hermis Adam Hubenak Melissa Hubenak In Memory of Bernard A. Pavey In Memory of Frank Kelley Tim Kostom Raymond and Dolores Krampota James Linderman Charlene Lusk Jeremiah May Jessica May
Elaine McCullough Arthur and Martha Palla Amy Parker Chris Schleider Michael Schleider SPJST Lodge 25, Ennis Youth Club Kay Lynn Kovar Ryan Mach Stacy Mach Randy Trojacek SPJST Lodge 81, Needville Doris Walker Amanda Wallace Eric Wallace Billie Boatman Marvin and Alice Chlapek Emil Galetka In Memory of Laura Jeschke Sheri Kofnovec Scott and Travis McKenney Cara Spanel-Weber Laura Spanel-Weber Renee Albrecht John and Dorothy Alexander Roy Belz Whitney Bohnenberger Stacey Branham Della Elzner James Elzner Jerry Elzner Jerry and Milly Elzner Larry Elzner Marsha Elzner Jim and Donna Havranek Lil Hruska Helen Kasparek Dennis and Dorothy Korenek Henry Koshling (Continued on page 3.)
Brother Nick (Nicodemus) Alois Morris, died Saturday, December 27, 1997 of an apparent heart attack at his home in the Seaton community, just east of Nick A. Morris Temple. Brother Morris, who served as SPJST Supreme Lodge President from 1969 until 1984, was 71. Brother Morris was born October 23, 1926 and raised in Baylor County in West Texas. He graduated from Bomarton Hich School. Both his mother, the former Ana Mares, and father, Jon Morys, were immigrants from the provinces of Moravia and Bohemia, Czech Republic. His mother died when he was four years old and his father died when he was 11. His stepmother, Virginia Krc Morris, immigrated to Texas from the Moravian town of Frenstat following World War I. After graduating from high school, Brother Morris worked in a filling station, saving enough money for a semester of college at then North Texas State College in Denton, now North Texas State University. His education was interrupted by the draft. Prior to serving a tour of duty in Korea, Brother Morris attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where the U.S. Army sent him for intensive Russian language training. He was then employed by the U.S. Government as a civilian employee in Washington, D.C. and West Germany where he served for four years. While in Germany, he learned German fluently and had to use the Czech language almost daily in his work. After leaving government service, he returned to North Texas State where he received his bachelor of arts degree. For the next six years, he taught government and history in the Mesquite and Dallas Independent School Districts. He married Dorothy Liska of Ennis on February 23, 1957. In December of 1962, Brother Morris was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Vestnik Editor L.O. Hosek, who died in office. Delegates elected him to the Editor's post at the 1964 SPJST Convention in Waco.
Delegates to the 1968 SPJST Convention in Dallas elected Brother Morris Supreme Lodge President in 1968. He served in that capacity until 1984. Supreme Lodge Financial Secretary Jerry Mikulas was a longtime friend and worked with Brother Morris. He remembers him as an "effective and intelligent manager." "Nick came on during what was a time of great technical change in the SPJST and across the country," says Brother Mikulas. "Everything, it seems, was becoming automated. He welcomed change and made it work to the advantage of our Society. The numbers speak to that." During Brother Morris's tenure, SPJST member certificates increased from 43,000 in 1970 to more than 56,000. During this same period, insurance in force increased from $65 plus million in 1970 to more than $147 million. Over this same period, 14 new lodges were organized and chartered. Twelve new lodge buildings were built and dedicated. It was also during Brother Morris's presidency that the SPJST Home Office Building was constructed and that the SPJST Museum was founded. Another longtime friend of Brother Morris was Sister Tillie Helmcamp of Houston. Tillie, who serves as Second Vice President of Lodge 88, Houston, recalls Brother Morris as a dynamic leader and innovator within the SPJST. "The enthusiasm and self-confidence that he brought to the Society was incredible," she says. "I had the chance to visit with him by telephone just last Tuesday. We had such a good conversation . . . Like so many others, I thought the world of Nick and his wife, Dorothy. They were good friends and we miss them dearly." In recent years, Brother Morris revisited the teaching profession, serving as a substitute teacher in the Rogers Independent School District and teaching informal Czech classes at
Lodge 47, Seaton and Lodge 177, Academy. Brother Morris was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy, in 1989. He is survived by four sons: Nick, 39; Stephen, 36; Josef, 34; and Michael, 27; a daughter, Katherine, 37; and 11 grandchildren. Memorials in memory of Brother Morris may be directed to the SPJST Memorial Scholarship Fund. —SPJST-