Jo Ann Tatum Morris

Jo Ann Tatum Morris, 90, of 214 Market Street, died Saturday, February 24, 2024. Born in Elizabethtown, NC, on October 14, 1933, she was the daughter of the late Nash LeGrand Tatum and Ida Francis Suggs Tatum. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Donald S. Morris, her brother, Nash LeGrand Tatum, Jr., her nephew, Nash LeGrand Tatum, III, and by a special friend, Tony Key. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she later attended Radcliffe College and the University of Austria. Her specialty and area of study focused on the rise of the Nazi Party in Europe. Her working career centered on both advertising and public service, having been employed as a Juvenile Court Counselor for over 20 years and in advertising in both Philadelphia and New York. Other employment through the years included her time with the Social Security Administration in both Fayetteville and Charlotte. Community involvement over the years included having served as a two-term councilwoman with the Town of Hertford and service with the North Carolina Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. She was a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Surviving are her two daughters, Barbara Morris and Melanie Morris James and her husband, Derrick James; a beloved granddaughter, Mariah Mary James; numerous nieces and nephews; and special friends, Tim Weaver, and Kindra and Johnny Faulk. A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 9, at 11:00 a.m. in Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Friends may join the family in the Parish Hall of the church following the service. The family wishes to thank her devoted caregivers, April Privott, Jo Privott, and Judy Siemsen, for all they have done during her time of need, and the other friends and community members for all the visits, calls, gifts, cards and many acts of kindness. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made either to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 207 S. Church Street, or to the Hertford Fire Department, P.O. Box 32, both in Hertford, NC 27944. Miller & Van Essendelft Funeral Home, 1125 Harvey Point Road, Hertford, is assisting the family with arrangements and online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.