Susie Morris Obituary

Susie White Morris

1948-2025

West Valley City, Utah-Susie White Morris, 77, of West Valley City passed away peacefully October 16, 2025, surrounded by her family. She fought a courageous ten-year battle with cancer. She lived most of her life in West Valley City, but Tooele was always home.

Susie was a true force of nature, as demonstrated by her demand to change her name from Linda to Susie after her first day of kindergarten because she had five Lindas in her class. She was forever young at heart and had adventures and experiences most of us can only dream of. She had a wonderful childhood growing up on Russell Avenue in Tooele, with many friends and a huge extended family living nearby. Her rodeo career started one Christmas morning when a pony named "Star" was tied to the fence. She excelled at horsemanship with her father's training and was the secretary of the Tooele Bit N' Spur, a club started by her grandfather Bish White. She won countless trophies barrel racing and pole bending. She was a rodeo queen many times, including the 1965 July 4th Rodeo Queen. While attending Tooele High School, she cruised main street with her best friend Margie in a brand new 1963 corvette, among many other adventures. Following high school, she graduated from beauty school and married a young sailor in a shiny new mustang, settling in West Valley City. She went on to raise two sons, earn her paralegal certificate from Westminster College, complete her family genealogy, professionally paint houses, start two successful auction businesses, run a Christmas toy store, cut hair in her home for countless people, become an avid runner, and much more. She always had projects and was never comfortable sitting still.

Susie was born into a close and large family. She was fiercely loyal to her family and would do anything to help them. Among countless acts of generosity, she painted houses over several summers to help her brothers pay for college. She especially loved and supported her two sons, one an attorney and the other a contractor. She loved muscle cars and was thrilled when her sons both drove and fixed up old muscle cars when they were in high school. She was an amazing mother who was always helping and encouraging her sons in whatever they needed or wanted, while also allowing them the freedom to choose their own paths.

Most important to Susie, she was the hero of her five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, all of whom she adored. She was a unique aunt and grandma in that she went the extra mile to bring fun and surprise to any occasion, whether it be with bags of candy, the latest toys, a funny wig or mask, or something else no one would think of. All the kids loved spending the night at grandma or aunt Susie's house and she had a special "toy room" ready for them. There was nothing Susie liked more.

Susie made countless friends throughout her life. She was the first person to help anyone in need, with no thought of cost or her time. Her can-do attitude and tremendous work ethic were matched by her personality and sense of humor. She could bring fun to any situation and never grew tired of making people laugh. Some of her Halloween costumes were truly legendary. Even in the darkest days of her cancer treatment she would joke with her family and the doctors, usually at her own expense, and bring a smile to their faces. She was that truly unique type of person who people remember and look forward to seeing again.

Susie is survived by her husband John L Morris, sons John D Morris (Tonya) and Chris Morris (Kris), sister and best friend Wendy McCleery (Dave), brother Doug White (Carolyn), grandchildren Mason, Gaige, Ethan, Madeline, and Grace, great granddaughter Morgan, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family; all of whom will miss her dearly. She is preceded in death by her parents Floyd and Beverly White, sister Robyn Cavaness, brother David White, and nephew Ryan White.

Susie's family would like to thank the many healthcare providers who gave Susie the opportunity to extend her life by many years in the face of terminal cancer. The treatments were not easy, but Susie fought through them for her family and made the most of the extra time.

A viewing will be held in Tooele, Utah on Friday, October 24, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Tate Mortuary located at 110 S. Main Street, Tooele, Utah 84074. A second viewing will be held at Tate Mortuary on Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. followed by funeral services at 11:00 a.m. and interment at the Tooele City Cemetery. The funeral services will be streamed and available online at Tate Mortuary's website.