Robert E. Morrell, 70, firefighter, loved fishing

Thursday, 26 January 2012 15:50

Robert Edwin Morrell died on Jan. 20 at the age of 70. He was born in Cos Cob to Mary and Howard Morrell.

From the day of his birth, Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 Mr. Morrell began to make his mark in the world. Graduating from Greenwich High School in 1959 he went on to earn an associate degree in fire fighting from Norwalk Technical Institute.

He enlisted in the Army where he was stationed in Kansas, Georgia and throughout Germany. In Germany he was in the communications group, responsible for setting up mobile communication stations. While in Berlin he witnessed the construction of the wall. He felt the plight of the people and spoke often about those that it affected, his family recalled. In his later years, Mr. Morrell used that experience as an impetus for his commitment to the community as seen in his efforts with the local and state government.

One of many of Mr. Morrell's passions was his role as a firefighter. He was assigned to the Old Greenwich Fire House as a paid firefighter and later volunteered for the Cos Cob Fire Patrol. In 1966 he began a successful career with IBM before he retired in 1992 and became an international consultant for them.

Another passion of Mr. Morrell's was fishing. He fished from Long Island Sound, Pt. Judith, R.I., and Melbourne, Fla. on the east to Cabo San Lucas, the Columbia River Gorge and Alaska in the west. He has caught blue fish, striped bass, cod, sturgeon, a 300 lb. Blue Marlin (estimated because he threw it back), a 220 lb. Alaskan halibut and a 38 lb. King Salmon. He has traveled to every state except North Dakota and saw every state capitol building in those states.

Mr. Morrell was remembered as a reserved man with a talent for writing. Winning accolades for his talents, and even more recently through his heartfelt vignettes from his days as a paid fireman, he was able to shed light on his encounters.

Mr. Morrell was married to Jean L. Morrell for more than 34 years and is survived by three children, Tracey Woodard, Leean Morrell-Taylor and Scott Morrell as well as nine grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. at Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home at 31 Arch St., with a funeral procession to Fairfield Memorial Park. The family respectfully requests that individuals remember to always give the right of way to rescue and emergency vehicles in Mr. Morrell's honor.

To leave an online condolence, visit Leopgallaghergreenwich.com.

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