In memoriam of Carl A. Morring, Jr., 07/10/1920 – 04/21/2014
Carl A. Morring, Jr., a Huntsville attorney who helped shepherd the city and Madison County from its traditional cotton economy to the high-technology center it has become, died April 21 at his home. He was 93, and had been in failing health.
Born on July 10, 1920, to Carl A. Morring, Sr., and Zala Given Morring, Mr. Morring grew up on the family farm – Poplar Terrace – in Ryland. His father had farmed the property since the age of 13, and Carl Jr. remained active in its operation until his death.
Educated at Huntsville High School, Mr. Morring graduated in 1942 with a degree in commerce from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and active in student government.
His subsequent legal training was interrupted by World War II. Commissioned through ROTC, he served in England with the Eighth Air Force and saw duty in Northern Ireland and Africa as well. He served until 1946 with the rank of Major.
Mr. Morring received his LL.B. degree from the University of Alabama in 1947, and was an active partner in the firm Morring, Schrimsher & Riley and its predecessors. He was admitted to the Alabama Bar, U.S. District Court, U.S. Tax Court, U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. In addition to his practice as a criminal and, later, corporate attorney, he was general counsel for the City of Huntsville Utility Board and the Colonial Bank of North Alabama.
He was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1948, and served in the Alabama Legislature in 1949-50, but most of his public service came via volunteer work. He was a member of the Huntsville Industrial Development Board from 1965 to 1975, a time when the city was one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the world. He was Treasurer of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce in 1971, and President of the organization from 1972-74. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Huntsville Industrial Expansion Committee.
A lifelong member of First Baptist Church, where he married Fay McLure, of Huntsville, on Nov. 16, 1944, Mr. Morring served on the church finance committee when the congregation outgrew its historic facility on Clinton St. and built the structure it now occupies on Governors Dr. He was also a longtime supporter of the National Society for Crippled Children & Adults, serving as that organization’s treasurer in 1960-61 and president in 1962-63. During that service he met in the White House Oval Office with President John F. Kennedy to promote the organization’s Easter Seals fundraising effort. He was a trustee of the organization from 1950, when he became national President of the Alabama Society for Crippled Children and Adults.
Among his many other activities during a long and active volunteer career, Mr. Morring was President of the Acme Club in 1953; Vice-President, Huntsville Jaycees, 1955; Civic Club Council President, 1954; Alabama Hall of Fame Board member, 1958-59; American Legion District Commander, 1948; Vice Commander, VFW Post 2702, 1949; President of the University of Alabama Chapter, Pi Kappa Alpha, 1950-52; member, Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa honorary fraternity; a Mason and Shriner, and President of the Huntsville Shrine Club in 1963; listed in Who’s Who in America from 1963, and President of the Metropolitan Kiwanis Club in 1978-79.
Predeceased by his wife of 42 years, Mr. Morring is survived by their three children – Susan Morring Cope (Ronald) and Carl A. (Gus) Morring, III (Pamela), both of Huntsville, and Melissa Morring Climer (George), of Nashville; eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
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n lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the First Baptist Church, 600 Governors Drive, S.W., Huntsville, AL 35801.
Graveside service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Maple Hill Cemetery, Laughlin Funeral Home presiding.
