Mary Jean Morris

MARY JEAN (MOSHER) STEINER MORRIS (M. Jean Morris) OF GREENFIELD went to be with her Lord and Savior on January 26, 2011. She was born December 21, 1926 in Danville, Illinois to Dr. Alfred and Mary Pearl (Trill) Mosher. She was preceded in death by her Mother in 1929, her Father in 1933, and her youngest sister in 2009. After their parents passed, she and her other sister, Margaret Ann, were cared for by Dr Anson and Maude (Holdson) Greenlee during the depression. She had three foster sisters; Ellen (Archie) Bogart, Arline, Mary Jane and one foster brother John (Guidi) Greenlee, all of whom predeceased her. Jean is survived by her sister Margaret (Paul) Mather, Corry, PA, her son, David (Robin, Benjamin, Christopher) Steiner, Indianapolis, a close live-in friend/foster son Bob (Candy) Sutherland, Bristol, TN, her first husband Daniel Steiner and her husband Eugene Morris. Also by four step-chrildren, Lisa (Les) Thaxton, Sarona (David) Zonarich, Phillip and Kimberli Morris, and by 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. She graduated from West Springfield, PA in 1944, Taylor University in Upland, IN, and Indiana University School of Nursing, the same month and year, May of 1951, with a M.S. in Nursing. She was married from 1949-1974 to Daniel David Steiner, ending in divorce. She married her current surviving husband, Eugene Morris, on November 2, 1984. Gene Morris grew up in Arkansas, and so they made many trips to Arkansas in her later life. They were also very active in their church, the Greenfield Church of Christ. She loved her children, Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren. She worked at Norway Hospital in 1951 as Clinical coordinator, then at Methodist Hospital School of Nursing as an Instructor from 1951 to 1958. On June 13, 1959 she birthed one Son, David, and shared her home with Robert Sutherland from 1973 until 1979. She taught Kindergarten from 1966 to 1967 at New Palestine, Indiana and was a teacher and School Nurse for Southern Hancock County Schools at the New Palestine Elementary from 1967 to 1968. She then became In-Service Educator/Acting Director for the Brooksville Nursing Home from 1968 to 1971, and was Out-patient Supervisor at Marion County Hospital/Wishard Memorial Hospital from 1971 to 1972, Epidemiologist/Infection Control Nurse at Wishard from 1972 to 1990. She was then Infection Control Nurse at Central State Hospital from 1990 until the hospital closed. She felt greatly rewarded in her Epidemiologist position, and was a pioneer in infection control. She developed the best program in the United States according to the Joint Commission for Accreditation of hospitals, and presented her program in several cities around the Midwest and the world. Christian work: Jean was most concerned with living a dedicated and active Christian life. She believed in having a close relationship with the Lord through Bible study, prayer, and through serving Him and others. She enjoyed caring for people who had needs. In her adult life she gave herself in prayer for as many as asked. She became interested in addressing the Arabic and Muslim nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a teen when she heard a talk given by a missionary to the Middle East. She learned to fast and pray at Taylor University and she determined to “go into all the World” through prayer after she and her first husband moved to Spring Lake near Greenfield, IN. They had no telephone, no T. V., no second vehicle, and the area was conducive to meditation. Many missionaries wrote to her, and she tried to write seven letters a day to know their prayer needs. She had wanted to go to China and work with homeless children, but that door was closed by the Chinese Government. She then met Ivy Sallee, who was a young Christian and wanted to spend time in prayer with her. They met weekly at Spring Lake. Jean became ill in 1964 and her doctor gave her six months to live. People around the world prayed and her five-year-old son, David, knelt at her bed and pleaded with God for her life. Little by little the prayers were answered and she became well. It was that same year that Dallas Green of North Africa Mission wrote and asked her to find a church where they could have a music and mission program. The meeting was packed and he asked for those who would pray with Jean for the Muslim world one hour a month to sign up. There were two women who met with Ivy and Jean every month for years. Others soon joined, and Ivy Sallee took up the prayer needs and developed many prayer groups in Indianapolis. In 1984 The Greenfield North African Mission (NAM – Now Arab World Ministries, joined with Pioneers) Prayer Group invited all Prayer Groups to a joint meeting that started the yearly NAM Prayer Group meeting. We were told that 113 groups had formed across the United States. Jean attended the 100 year celebration of NAM, held in France where she facilitated a workshop on NAM Prayer Group startup. Many groups were formed as a result, and she felt rewarded for her efforts. She has many missionary friends working in many countries throughout the world. Her home was always open and she entertained many. Jean was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. She had the right mastectomy at that time, and in 2005 a recurrence resulted in a left mastectomy. In 2010 her cancer returned and metastasized. In November of 2010 all treatment was ended, as it had become ineffectual. Her Doctors placed her on Hospice care in her home until her death. Jean’s greatest desire was to see that every one hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and choose to obey Him by confessing with their mouths and believing in their hearts that He is the Christ, the only son of God, who died to take away the errors of this world. She is with Him now in Paradise. You are invited to go to the Guest Book page to pass along your personal message or tell a story. Sincerely, -Your friends at Flanner and Buchanan