I was born at my family’s home in Charleston, West Virginia, on January 13, 1936, and passed peacefully in my sleep on October 3, 2026, in Rock Hill, South Carolina, after a short illness. The dash between my birth year and the year of my passing was filled with a rich and blessed life.
For 20,800 days (57 years), I was the daughter of George Pythias Lyle and Margaret Evelyn(Clay) Lyle of Charleston, West Virginia. For 32,521 days (89 years), I was the sister of Delores Jean Lyle and Betty Josephine (Lyle) Mason. Delores, affectionately known as Dorsey, passed before me, and someday Betty Jo will follow.
I was the wife of a wonderful man, Coyle Jackson Morris, for 24,206 days (66 years). Together we shared the joy of raising two children, Jeanna Renee (Morris) Blair and Dwaine Gregory Morris. I was blessed to be their mother for 22,342 days (61 years).
I was a grandmother for 12,197 days (33 years) to Jesse Blair and Lindsay Blair, the son and daughter of Jeanna Blair, and to Sean Morris and Andrew Morris, the twin sons of Dwaine and April Morris.
My extended family of cousins stretches from Texas to Michigan and many places in between. Some passed before me, and others remain. I remembered and cherished them all.
I was a homemaker and a civil servant for the State of West Virginia while sharing a life centered on family. I always wanted to know how your day went and what you learned. I experienced the sorrow of losing my parents and my sister, but I also experienced the joy of watching my children succeed and later seeing that same promise fulfilled in their children. Looking back, I realize those titles were never separate chapters of my life. They simply accumulated. First I was a daughter. Then I became a sister. Later I became a wife, a mother, and eventually a grandmother. For many years, I carried all of those titles at the same time. I was a daughter, sister, wife, and mother for 10,006 days. I was a sister, wife, mother, and grandmother for 12,197 days. The greatest blessing was not any one title by itself, but having so many of them overlap. Each new role added another reason to be thankful and another person to love.
For 33,810 days (90 years), I always had more than enough: a roof over my head, food on the table, and friends and family around me. Through every season of life, I knew that God held me in the hollow of His hand. What more could I ask for?
John 10:28-30 (King James Version) 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
In the end, I was at peace. God will take care of me now: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalms 27:1.
A memorial service will be held at the Teays Valley Church of the Nazarene in Teays Valley WV November 21,2026 at 12:00.