Cover photo for Terry J. “TJ” Morrison's Obituary
Terry J. “TJ” Morrison Profile Photo
1947 Terry j. “tj” 2015

Terry J. “TJ” Morrison

July 22, 1947 — October 8, 2015

Terry J. Morrison, age 68, of Saint Peter, MN, died on Thursday, October 8, 2015 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., on Thursday, October 15, 2015, at Christ Chapel on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. Born on July 22, 1947 in Eugene, Oregon to Earl E. and Lois B. (Morgan) Morrison, he was educated at the University of Oregon, Southern Oregon College, the University of Florida and received his Ph.d. in Mathematics at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. T.J., as he was fondly called by students and colleagues, began teaching at Gustavus Adolphus College in 1978. His interests were wide and varied; from philosophy and physics to music and sports. As a young man he played golf and was a semi-professional baseball pitcher. In college he was an avid tennis player. In later years he shared his love of sports with his daughter and, always the teacher, taught her most of the fine points of baseball. He was the author of Functional Analysis: An Introduction to Banach Space Theory, published in 2001. He was selected by students as the winner of the Swenson-Bunn Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence in 1998. Described by colleagues as "the rock of the MCS department" and "extremely supportive of his students," Terry was known for his ability to unite his passion for theory with the skill set necessary to teach complex concepts to generations of Gustavus students. He was instrumental in the creation of the computer science major at Gustavus and spent time as a faculty member at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. He traveled extensively in Europe and Africa, did fine needlework, was a voracious reader and had a wide variety of friends and acquaintances. He was a great fan of Oregon Ducks football, as well as the San Francisco Giants and the Minnesota Vikings. He spent game days with his friends at Whiskey River and was a member of the Red Men Club in St. Peter, and active in A. A. U. P., the American Association of University Professors. Survivors are his wife of 45 years, Kathleen; daughters: Cheri Watts and Gedam Azeze; grandchildren: Alexander Watts, Emenet Sime and Marcos Sime; his mother, Lois; Brothers: Kim and Dale; and nieces, nephews and extended family. He was preceded in death by his father.
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