FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth, Texas - Mervin Benson Morris,

age 97, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas, where she has been living since 2012. A memorial service will be held on Monday, November 15 at 11 a.m., in the chapel at First Baptist Church in Shreveport, La. Mrs. Morris was born on December 24, 1923, in Hampton, Ark., to Dolly and Noah Benson. She graduated from Hampton High School and then from Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas. She taught school in Gillett, Ark., and later worked in the legal department at Cities Service Oil Company in Shreveport, La. In Shreveport, Mrs. Morris met and married Carroll N. Morris. Together they were active members of First Baptist Church, involved in all aspects of ministry from the music program to teaching Sunday School. They were supportive and involved with a mission school in Hawaii where they visited multiple times. They enjoyed playing bridge, watching football, and being involved in their daughter’s lives. Mrs. Morris was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her four siblings. She is survived by two daughters: Ellen Patridge and husband, Jim, of Texarkana, Texas, and Julie Watson and husband, Robert of Fort Worth, Texas. Mrs. Morris has five grandchildren: Jennifer Patridge Harrington and husband, Jared, James Clay Patridge, Jr., Sarah Watson Ofner and husband, Charlie, Kent Watson and wife, Emilie, and Jeff Watson. Mrs. Morris also leaves behind 11 wonderful great-grandchildren. Honoring Mrs. Morris as pallbearers will be Clay Patridge, Kent Watson, Jeff Watson, Jared Harrington, Charlie Ofner, and Joshua Walker. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church of Shreveport, 543 Ockley Drive, Shreveport, La., 71106.