Dema Morrison

She was young once, and beautiful. We will always remember her as the perfect hostess presiding at our family gatherings, every celebration, with style, love, and complete happiness. Her home was a refuge of good taste from the cluttered world where every guest left refreshed and happier than when they arrived. Dema Constance Maddox was born September 16, 1915, to William Edward and Opal Grace (Potter) Maddox near Greencastle, Indiana. Dema and her younger sister Juel (Judy) grew up in the Hoosier heartland surrounded by an extended loving family of cousins, aunts and uncles. Meeting the challenges of the Depression years, Dema worked long hours and scrimped to attend DePauw University. She graduated with a B.A. in 1937. While there, she caught the eye of a handsome young mathematics instructor named Cohn Morrison. She taught high school English and Latin while he completed his education. They married August, 1941, in the Gobin Methodist Church in Greencastle. Cohn enlisted in the Army Air Corps prior to Pearl Harbor believing war was inevitable. War time assignments took them to air bases in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. They were fortunate never to be apart during those years. With the war won, Dema returned to her parents home for the birth of their son, Jim, in 1945. Cohn and Dema were a devoted, inseparable couple for 68 years until his death in 2009. Their tender devotion to each other was an inspiration to all who knew them. Friends and family loved her for her generosity, thoughtfulness, and accomplished style. Various career opportunities over the years took their little family to Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia. Dema fell in love with Colonial history and loved being the unofficial tour guide for visiting friends and family from her home in Alexandria, VA. She also enjoyed researching family history. She gathered much information from the Library of Congress and from the Family History Center in Salt Lake. Together she and Cohn travelled throughout the United States and overseas. They moved West to Utah in 1978 to be close to Jim, Barbara and their 4 children. Dema lived to welcome 10 great grandchildren into the world. She passed away this week, age 96, her body no longer able to do what her spirit would will. Characteristically, through the last difficult years, she greeted everyone with a smile and a compliment, never complaining. We would like to thank the staff and residents at The Inn on Barton Creek in Bountiful, UT, for their friendship, love and concern. Funeral services will be at Whitaker Funeral Home in Cloverdale, Indiana, Thursday, October 13. Friends are invited to meet with the family at 10 a.m. with service to follow at 11 a.m.