Donald Dean Morrow

Donald Dean Morrow, born November 25, 1916, passed away at the age of 92, on July 29, 2009, in the comfort of his own home and the care of those he loved. Don was born in a farmhouse near Endicott, Washington, to Dean and Georgia Morrow. He attended country schools in the greater Palouse area and graduated from Palouse High School. During the Depression years Don helped the family financially by taking jobs with local farmers. When he left home he worked as a hired hand. Don went to Trade School to become a machinist at the beginning of WWII and repaired airplane engines at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane. After the war he worked in Alaska and Spokane. In 1954 Don began working for General Electric at the Hanford Site. Over his 26 years at Hanford the 328 Building machine shop was home. Don always said the only difference over the years was who backed his paycheck (GE, Battelle or Westinghouse). He retired in 1980 from a career he loved and with praise from supervisors for a job well done. Don was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers Bob (Troy, ID), Claude (McMinnville, OR), and Metz (Union Flat Creek). He married Zelva in 1940 and they moved to the Tri-Cities from Spokane in 1954. When she passed away in 1959 he began his life as a single parent to their son Gary. He met Ramona McInturff and her two children, Sandi and Barry, later that year and after charming her for a short time they decided to wed. Don and Monie joined their families, and added Jodi one year later. They traveled through more than 49 years of marriage together. Don will be missed by his wife, Ramona, and the children from their separate and combined unions, Gary Morrow (Santa Maria, CA), Sandi McInturff (Kennewick), Barry McInturff and his wife Trina (Kennewick), and Jodi Wheeler and her husband Mike (Kennewick). He loved his five grandsons, Dana Gardner (Bonney Lake), Rick Gardner, Michael McInturff, Tyke Wheeler, and Andy Wheeler (all of Kennewick) and two granddaughters Stacy Crowner (Seattle) and Julie McInturff (Kennewick). He was fortunate to also get to share in the lives of his seven great grandchildren. Don is also survived by sisters, Arlene Rogers (Kennewick) and Francis (and Don) Vinoly (Yuma AZ) and two sister-in-laws Olivia Morrow (McMinnville, OR) and Lucille Morrow (Moscow, ID), and numerous nieces and nephews. Many will best remember Don as an avid sportsman. He was a wilderness man and believed in living off the land and never doing anything in a small way. His hunting and fishing skills were well known by everyone close to him. Don always grew a BIG garden. His family benefited from the fruits and vegetables of his labor and he freely shared the extra with others. He kept his family warm by chopping more wood than Paul Bunyan ever did. It wasn't just his family he cared for, but also the many animals he raised - chickens, cows, horses, ducks, pheasants, cats, and the many dogs he loved. A service in celebration of Don's life will be held, Friday, August 7, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. at Mueller's Tri-Cities Funeral Home, 1401 S. Union in Kennewick. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Tri-City Hospice Chaplaincy.