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<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>McNickle Center <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:mcnickle@newberry.org"><mcnickle@newberry.org></a></td>
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<b><big>Kenneth M. Morrison</big></b>, of Florence, Oregon, passed
away suddenly, but peacefully, Saturday morning, January 7th,
while at home enjoying a cup of coffee. <br>
Ken was born in Skowhegan, Maine, on November 22, 1946, to Kenneth
M. Morrison and Lucille Morrison. He attended high school at St.
Martin of Tours in Millinocket. The eldest of five chidren, Ken
was the first in his family to attend college, earning his B.A. in
History in 1968 from St. Dunstan’s University on Prince Edward
Island. Ken supported himself by working summers at the Great
Northern Paper Company. After briefly contemplating a career in
secondary teaching, Ken enrolled at the University of Maine -
Orono, where he earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Canadian-American
History in 1970 and 1975 respectively. While completing his
dissertation, he was honored to receive a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
to the Newberry Library Center on the History of the American
Indian and often spoke of this time as a catalyst in his
intellectual development. After earning his doctorate, Ken
accepted a faculty position teaching American Indian History at
UCLA. Ken excelled in his new field, despite never taking a course
in American Indian History. He also enjoyed life on Venice Beach
with his beloved cats Cinderella and Samantha, as well as a number
of lifelong friends. In 1983, Ken accepted a tenured position at
Arizona State University in the Department of Religious Studies
and in 1984 published his first book The Embattled Northeast. At
ASU, Ken served as a mentor to dozens of students, many of whom
went on to success in academia and activism. His commitment to
undergraduate education was recognized through several competitive
teaching awards including the 2001 Parent’s Association Professor
of the Year award; he worked tirelessly to improve teaching and
learning at ASU. In 2002, Ken published his second book, The
Solidarity of Kin. Ken retired from ASU in 2008, but continued his
intellectual work and his conversations with students as he
relocated to Oregon in 2011. Into his last weeks of life, he was
still building new relationships with students and advising them
on intellectual paths.<br>
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Ken was predeceased in death by his parents and his nephew, Jude.
He is survived by his stepfather, Percy Stewart, his sisters Linda
Ippoliti and Joanne Crocker, his brothers John Stewart and Danny
Morrison, as well as his feline companion, Miss Abby. He is also
survived by his nieces Diana, Jennifer, Joelle, Morgan, Johnna,
Kristin, Maria, and Samantha and his nephews Aaron, Ian, and Ryan.
Along with his family, Ken is survived and missed by many friends.
His relationships with Aaron Anderson, Geoffrey Glover, Michael
Jewell, and Thandeka were especially meaningful.<br>
<br>
Ken’s life was dominated by two parallel commitments. First, was
his dedication to the American Indian people he met and worked
with. This dedication was evidenced by his work as an expert
witness on the Maine Indian Land Case, of which he was very proud.
He argued that American Indian peoples had been historically
misunderstood, particularly in their interactions with Europeans.
He worked to understand</font> <font size="-1"><br>
American Indian lives and religious practices on their own terms.<br>
<br>
Inextricably linked to his commitment to American Indians was his
embrace of the existential philosophy of Martin Buber. As Ken
often recounted, after reading Buber’s I and Thou as a college
senior, he cried for three days. Ken truly understood that all
real living is meeting and the uncertainty that such a stance
entailed. He built mutual, authentic relationships at every
opportunity and was passionately dedicated to the people with whom
he was in conversation. At the core of his being, Ken was about
dialogue</font> <font size="-1"><br>
and wanted to foster it wherever and with whomever he encountered.
As Martin Buber wrote, and Ken lived, “We live in the currents of
universal reciprocity.”<br>
<big><br>
In lieu of flowers, a donation in Ken’s memory can be made to
the Florence Food Share:</big></font> <big><font size="-1"><big><br>
<br>
Mail:</big></font><font size="-1"><big><br>
Florence Food Share<br>
P.O. Box 2514<br>
Florence, OR 97439<br>
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Online: </big></font><font size="-1"><big><a
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.florencefoodshare.org/donate_money.html">http://www.florencefoodshare.org/donate_money.html</a><br>
</big></font></big> <br>
--<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72"><font style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica;" size="2">D'Arcy McNickle Center
The Newberry Library
(312) 255-3564
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.newberry.org/mcnickle">www.newberry.org/mcnickle</a></font>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica;"><a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.facebook.com/ncais.mcnickle">facebook.com/ncais.mcnickle</a></span></pre>
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