MORRIS BANKS NIX SR's Obituary
Morris Banks Nix Sr., 96, died on a Monday evening, March 20, 2023, at his longtime home on Melrose Farm near Waterford, VA. He passed away comfortably, under the excellent palliative care of Blue Ridge Hospice, surrounded by his children who sang him home with some of his favorite hymns. Whether he was called Morris or Cousin Morry, Dad or Grandpa, Uncle Morry or Great-Granddad, or even his boyhood nickname, 'Skeezix,' he was a rock-solid foundation for our family, loving, supporting and inspiring us all.
Morris was born at Walter Reed Army Hospital on September 10, 1926, shortly after his parents, Robert Williamson Nix Jr. and Elisabeth Banks Nix, returned stateside from being stationed in Hawaii. He spent his earliest years in Rockville Center on Long Island, NY, but at age 6, amid The Great Depression, he and his family moved to Melrose Farm in Virginia, which was nestled between a triangle of small towns: Waterford, Taylorstown and Lucketts. He lived there with his parents and two older siblings (Robert 'Bobby' Williamson Nix III and Mary Elisabeth Nix). He attended Waterford School, a one-room schoolhouse for grades 1 through 8, before attending Lincoln High School, and then Leesburg High School. In those days, the roads were quite rough and busing was not provided, so he rode the few miles to Waterford School on ‘Fritzy,’ his little Shetland pony. Morris was a runner before running was cool, running after his pony to try and saddle up in the morning; and sometimes running up to five miles across the farmland, just for fun.
For his post-secondary education, Morris attended VMI in Lexington, VA and Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. He also attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY for his MBA. A life-long learner and avid reader, always driven by curiosity, Morris loved: chess, keeping up with the news and weather, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, all the newest inventions in Popular Science, all the intriguing articles in National Geographic, and many of the home-grown engineering 'opportunities' afforded him over the course of his working life.
School life was disrupted by WWII, in which Morris' brother Bobby died (Battle of Anzio, Italian campaign). Morris entered the Navy in the aftermath of WWII, was present in the Pacific Theater for the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests, and was recalled to service in the Mediterranean Theater during the Korean war. In his time with the Navy, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant and was appointed to the post of First Lieutenant. He served as navigator and was given responsibility in the execution of ship-to-ship refueling. Once, as he went from one ship assignment to another, Morris crossed the U.S. coast-to-coast in an old Ford, exploring the Grand Canyon and a few other natural wonders. Remember, this was in an age where you could expect to have to 'maintain' your tires every 20 miles or so. Quite an adventure!
On 12/9/1950, Morris' single life in the Navy ended when he married Winifred ‘Winnie’ W. Nix, whom he had met at Cornell. Thus began an amazing life together, punctuated at fairly regular intervals by the arrival of their nine children (Morris Banks Nix Jr., Linda Ellen Nix, Edward J. Nix, Robert Williamson Nix IV, Sarah W. Nix, Carrie J. Nix, Timothy W. Nix, Mary Faith Nix and David Hope Nix). Morris and Winnie loved to sing together, in the choir and in the car, they loved to travel to far-off places for both leisure and ministry (Columbia, Japan, Hawaii, Australia, Europe, etc.), and they complemented one another beautifully, each working hard to maintain their relationship, to support the church, to lift up youth ministries like ‘Coffee House,’ and ‘Your House, Inc.,’ and to raise a family.
Morris did have a brief professional life in business, putting his MBA to good use helping to manage inventory for an oil company in Ashland, KY. However, when his Dad had a stroke, Morris answered the call to come home and take over day-to-day operations on Melrose Farm.
And the work was hard! In planting and harvesting seasons, Morris often left the house early in the morning, and arrived home late at night. Maintaining a large farm, finding customers for the 'custom harvesting' business, constantly checking weather and the readiness of the fields, driving all over several counties to do the work, fixing all the equipment break-downs, keeping up with business paperwork, being active in the Southern States Co-Op, and paying attention to the many activities of his growing family... Wow. It was not surprising that he got so good at taking 10-minute naps in the truck at lunchtime (just to check for holes in his eyelids)! His wife Winnie worked just as hard. Originally from the NY city suburbs, she was simultaneously learning from scratch all the roles she played on the farm, working on church projects (and later the 'Renewing Love' ministry), and raising 9 kids. Together, they did it all, without a great deal of formal recognition for their efforts, and without complaint. They did a great job with the kids (if we do say so ourselves). Dad took time out of his busy schedule for each of us: softball games, reading while we did the dishes, soccer games, baptisms, school plays and concerts, wrestling matches, science fairs, family reunions, you name it! Mom and Dad gave each of us the opportunity to attend college. They helped facilitate our graduation trips. They helped us with our weddings when we got married. Mom and Dad even made space in their lives and hearts for a wagging, drooling procession of family dogs. The family grew and flourished as grandkids and then great-grandkids arrived; and we could still depend on Mom and Dad to continue with all that helping.
Morris was preceded in death by: his parents, his brother Robert 'Bobby' W. Nix III, his sister Mary Nix Leader and her husband John Leader, his wife Winifred W. Nix, his two children Morris B. Nix Jr. and Robert W. Nix IV, and two of his sons-in-law, Timothy 'Tim' Robertson and Herbert 'Herb' Jeffries.
He is survived by:
• Daughter Linda Nix Jeffries and the families of her children, Medora 'Stevie' Tillman Jeffries Smith and Aaron 'Jay' Banks Jeffries.
• Son Edward J. Nix and his wife Jennifer K. Nix, along with the family of their daughter Laura N. Baker.
• Daughter Sarah N. Robertson and the families of her children: David G. Robertson, George W. Robertson, Christopher E. Robertson, and John T. Robertson.
• Daughter Carrie J. Roberts and her husband James 'Jim' T. Roberts II and the families of her children: James 'Jimmy' T. Roberts III, Ann Marie R. Krauss, and Michael E. Roberts.
• Son Timothy W. Nix and his wife Martha E. Nix, along with their daughters Sarah E. Nix, Rachel G. Nix and Rebekah P. Nix.
• Daughter Mary Faith Nix,
• Son David Hope Nix and his wife Leah Bahiyyih Farnsworth along with their daughter Rayna Farnsworth
• Nieces Clare Leader and Elisabeth Leader and their respective families
• And all his beloved Jones relatives in upstate New York whose matriarch was Winnie’s sister Betty.
Thank you for allowing us to share our memories of Morris with you.
We will continue to celebrate Morris' life with a Memorial Service in the Fellowship Hall of Leesburg Community Church on Sunday, 04/16/23 at 1:30pm. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent to 'The Gideon's International' and/or 'Blue Ridge Hospice.'
We will end here with a few stanzas from one of Morris' favorite inspirational hymns:
I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining ev'ry day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith, on heaven’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
What’s your fondest memory of MORRIS?
What’s a lesson you learned from MORRIS?
Share a story where MORRIS's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with MORRIS you’ll never forget.
How did MORRIS make you smile?