Susan Morris of West Barrington, R.I. and a longtime summer resident of Tashmoo and Lower Makonikey, died suddenly yet peacefully at age 82 in her home of 57 years, on March 2, 2026.
Susan was born in Providence, R.I., on August 10, 1943, to Margaret and P. Victor Dunbar of Merritt Road, East Providence. Her mother, Margaret, worked as an assistant to the pediatric practice of Dr. Farley. Victor served as a captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during WWII, and survived Omaha Beach on D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and Okinawa. He retired as a lieutenant colonel after the Korean War.
Susan attended East Providence High School in 1961, and went on to graduate from St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing, Columbia University, with her R.N. in 1964, valedictorian of her class.
She worked at the Jane Brown Pavillion at Rhode Island Hospital. In 1968, Susan co-founded and served as the president of Childbirth Education Association (CEA), working to introduce and teach Lamaze birthing method statewide, an effort which led to its adoption by the physicians at Women and Infant’s Hospital and ultimately to Lamaze being taught to all expectant mothers in Rhode Island. She worked at St. Elizabeth’s Home in Providence from 1972 to 1987. Susan was Rhode Island’s first recipient of a federal grant to earn her master’s degree as a nurse practitioner from Boston University in 1985, furthering her specialization in geriatrics. She worked alongside Dr. Brex in his East Providence practice from 1988 to 1992. From 1992 to 1994, Susan worked for VNA of R.I. before launching her own practice, Geriatric Assessment Services, which she ran until 2024 with the administrative help of Sally Sisto. Leading a team of medical professionals, she excelled in keeping elderly patients healthy and at home, surrounded by family and loved ones.
Throughout her life, Susan was dedicated to helping elderly patients and members of the community. With other committed members of the vestry at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Barrington, R.I., she was part of creating John’s Mobile Meals, whose mission was and still is to deliver home-cooked meals to the homebound in Barrington and Riverside. With the help of Saints Matthew and Mark Episcopal Church in West Barrington, this mission remains operative to this day.
Susan served as a board member of the Episcopal Conference Center in Pascoag, R.I., where she was a senior counselor in her youth, as well as becoming the camp’s and the state’s first female certified freshwater lifeguard.
Susan was an avid lifelong cyclist, touring Western Ireland, Holland, the Hebrides in Scotland and Brittany in France. She was also an avid sailor, racing numerous boats with her husband. She was a gifted artist, painting in oils, sewing clothes for herself and others, and enjoying classes in weaving and other creative arts as a longtime member of the Handicraft Club in Providence. Susan was a devoted member of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, where she served in leadership positions both in the Providence chapter and in the society’s headquarters at Adelynrood.
Susan will be greatly missed by her family, and is survived by her husband, David J. Morris, of Kent, England; her two children, Justin and Sarah Morris of Springpoint, Chilmark and New York City; her daughter-in-law, Tina Lutz Morris; and her two grandsons, Orson and Lou Morris.
A memorial service and lunch is planned for Tuesday, April 7, at 11 am at the Episcopal Conference Center, located at 872 Reservoir Road, Pascoag, RI 02859. Kindly RSVP to susanmorrisrsvp@gmail.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Susan’s memory may be made to the Episcopal Conference Center (ECC) at eccri.org/donate, or by mail to Episcopal Conference Center, Attn: Memorial Donations, 872 Reservoir Road, Pascoag, RI 02859. Condolences may be left at monahandrabblesherman.com.