Billy Joe Morphew

Lori and I lost our hero on March 18th.   After some health battles he fought to the very end. He has rejoined our mom who left us 13 years ago. Anyone who knew dad, knew him as a loyal man, especially to family. He was the patriarch that everyone came to for financial and life advice knowing that the advice would be well thought out and solid. So much so, that other family members trusted him and mom with their care and finances as they entered the final stages of their own life. Doing this required both of them to postpone their life plans many times while they took care of them and in some instances it was several years.

Dad was a leader in my Indian Guides when I was 7, scout master for the entire troop, baseball coach at every level of baseball I played, including player agent for the entire little league.

He gave so many of us sound advice. One of the many moments I will never forget is what he told me about helping someone. He said "If more than two people know you have helped someone, you've done it for the wrong reason". That was a philosophy he lived by.

Dad served in the United States Air Force from 1958-1963. He often talked about serving during the Cuban missile crisis and how at one point had the privilege of working on John F. Kennedys plane…Air Force 1, of course under the intense supervision of the secret service.

Dad without question was the smartest person I knew. Our uncle Lowell, my mom's brother, told me how dad would drive him crazy in high school because he never had to study but aced every test he took. Going through high school, for me, was very frustrating as I struggled in math. He pulled out his old report cards to show me what was possible. Who still has their high school report cards? Not transcripts…report cards.

Although dad did not get a college degree, he was highly sought after in the telecommunications world as he rose through the ranks. Even as he was about to retire, he was contacted by corporate headquarters in New York with a request to move his family to New York to join their corporate management team. However, he turned down the promotion because I was about to finish and Lori was about to enter High School. As he had his entire life, he put his family above all else. Once he finally retired, he got a call to help with the implementation of a phone system in Brazil. For 6-7 months he worked in Brazil traveling home once a month until the job was finished. Not a bad career for a high school education.

Dad, you were our hero and will be missed by so many more than Lori and I. He is survived by his sister Betty Kessler of Tipp City, Ohio, two grandchildren, Jason and Valerie, four great grandchildren, Barrett, Boston, Mia and Luca.