I. James Morrison

LCDR I. James (Jim) Morrison (USN Ret.) of Concord, NH passed away August 4, 2019. He was born in 1924 in Geneva, NY to Irving and Leila (James) Morrison.
Earning a pilot's license before graduating from high school he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941 and spent his career in naval aviation. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor he was a crewman on PBY Catalina "flying boats" patrolling the North Atlantic. Once war was declared he spent the next 18 months in the Pacific theater with the PBYs, including missions at Midway and Guadalcanal. He came home as a casualty in 1943 and after his recovery served as a flight instructor at Pensacola, Fl. The day after marrying his beloved wife Mae (Mabel Guthrie) he was ordered back to the Pacific to help with the aerial evacuation of Americans during the Chinese civil war.
He would later return to the Pacific, seeing action in both Korea and Vietnam. The Navy's Operation Deepfreeze squadron in the Antarctic became his longest assignment in the service and he spent a total of seven years with the unit. Among his accomplishments was the introduction of ski-equipped C-130 Hercules transport aircraft for the Navy which helped open up the vast icy interior of the continent to scientists and support personnel. In recognition of his contributions, the Morrison Hills in Antarctica's Queen Alexandra Range were named in his honor.
After many years of Navy moves, living in multiple states and New Zealand, Jim and Mae settled in New Hampshire in 1975. Jim remained an aviation enthusiast long after his 28 years of Navy service and he was the editor and historian of the PBY Catalina International Association newsletter for 20 years. This role kept him in close contact with his many friends, including fellow World War II aviators. A highlight for Jim and Mae was the annual PBYCIA reunion which saw members fly in from around the world to celebrate their camaraderie. His love of traveling continued too and in his 90th year he took a cruise around Cape Horn at the bottom of South America, saying that it was on his bucket list as he had flown over it several times on Antarctic mapping missions, but never around it by ship.
He had a very social nature and was a lifelong learner, taking piano lessons while in his eighties and forever looking forward to the next DVD course whether it be economics, history, science or art.
He was predeceased by his wife, Mae and a son, Timothy. Survivors include five children; Sandra (Robert) Dawes of Manchester, NH, Barbara (Darrell) Jones of Cape Coral, FL, William (Terry) Morrison of Gilmanton, NH, Patricia (Frank) Croscup of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, and Jeanne Caito of Epping, NH; eleven grand-children and twelve great grand-children, nieces, nephews and cousins. He is also survived by a sister, Judy (Bob) Nelson of Gordonsville, VA and his companion in later years, Idella Downs of Northville, NY.
A graveside service with military honors will be held at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, 110 Daniel Webster Highway in Boscawen, on Tuesday, August 13 at 1:30 PM.