IN MEMORY OF JULIE MORRIS
Established in 2023 by the Morris family, the Julie Morris Ner Tamid Fund honors Julie’s endless love, unyielding dedication, and respect for all people. The fund will underwrite an annual grant to an organization that embodies Julies remarkable qualities. The supported organization will:
- Embrace new ideas and alternative ways of solving problems,
- Unlock the hidden potential that lies within people, and
- Foster environments of peace and community where change can blossom.
The fund will serve as a ner tamid, or eternal light, to remember Julie and give people the opportunity to see what can continue to unfold when Julie’s extraordinary qualities are put into action.
Click here to make a gift to the Julie Morris Ner Tamid Fund.
DAY OF GIVING – JUNE 7, 2023
In honor of what would have been Julie’s 80th birthday on June 7, we have created a day of giving in her memory.
The Morris and Silagi families have made generous gifts toward the Julie Morris Ner Tamid Fund, and we ask for your help in raising an additional funding. The Ner Tamid Fund will underwrite a grant in Julie’s memory to an organization that promotes gender equality and embodies her remarkable qualities. Please consider making a gift on or before June 7th.
“Julie Morris was a daughter, a wife, a mom, a bubbie, a friend, a Jew, a teacher, a volunteer, a philanthropist, and a Zionist. Interestingly, one title/role was not more important to her than another. Seems crazy to say she loved all equal – that she loved being Jewish as much as she loved my dad, that she loved her friends as much as her kids, or that she loved Israel as much as she loved her grandchildren. But that follows the premise that there was a finite amount of love in her – that she had to divvy it up. That was not the case with my mom. Her love was infinite. She gave everything she had to everything she loved.”
– Scott Morris (Julie’s son)
ABOUT JULIE MORRIS
Hadassah Foundation Board Members take a quick moment to sit during their 2017 Mission to Israel. (From left to right: Julie Morris z”l, Katie Edelstein, Andrea Silagi z”l, Diane Sigel, and Sue Beller)
A past Board Chair of the Hadassah Foundation, Julie served on the board from 2003-2008 and then remained active as an alumna of the board. She served on the Foundation’s strategic planning steering committee, helping craft a strategic plan that was completed in 2022 and sets out to make the Hadassah Foundation a leading force in the fields of Jewish and women’s philanthropy. The plan restructured the grantmaking processes to make the Foundation a more collaborative, flexible, and responsive grantmaker.
Born in 1943 in Seattle, Julie graduated from the University of Washington and taught English literature and speech at Seattle’s Shoreline High School. After moving to Spokane in 1970 with her husband Jeff, Julie became active in the Spokane Jewish community and in many of the city’s civic institutions.
She served many years on the board of directors of Temple Beth Shalom and Spokane Area Jewish Family Services. She also served over 30 years on the national board of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, including a term as National Vice President (the highest position one can serve without residing in New York). Julie also worked for the Variety Club and the Easter Seal campaigns, and served on the Board of Spokane Therapeutic Courts.
Julie passed away on January 21, 2023, leaving behind countless friends; her husband Jeff; her sons Eric (Tasha), Scott (Jen), and Mike; and her grandchildren Aslyn, Trevor, Payton, Jaxon, and Morgan, who all knew her affectionately as “Bubbie.”
Click here to make a gift to the Julie Morris Ner Tamid Fund.
Thank you to the many of you who already made a contribution in Julie’s memory. Should you be able, we ask that you consider contributing in honor of what would have been her 80th birthday.