The things Bill Morris values most in life seem ordered by proximity to where he sits in his Jackson, Mississippi, office.
Within reach are multiple framed photographs of his family. A step away are shelves stacked with treasured books. Above those, walls of pictures and news clippings showcase the gentleman’s love of vocal group harmony — The Drifters, The Moonglows, The Platters and many others — and focus on the individuals in that industry with whom he grew close. Slightly farther still is a hallway lined with oil paintings, a gallery that testifies to the collector’s passion for fine art.
But there’s one value Morris holds closer than any of the others: a faith that punctuates every conversation.
“Everything is a gift from God,” said Morris, a 1964 University of Mississippi graduate, who with his wife, Camille, has committed to making a major gift to Ole Miss — something he felt led to do. “At a certain point, when you open your heart to the Lord and you ask Him for more, He’s very generous and He continues to be.
“I just feel so confident that He guides whatever I’m doing. When you hear that voice, you’d do well to listen, discern and act.”
Morris is founder and president of The William Morris Group and recognized throughout the life insurance industry as one of its most knowledgeable producers in the disability income insurance space. But his passions are music, photography, singing and writing.
“God always made room for me to do these other things,” he said.
His memoir, “This Magic Moment: My Journey of Faith, Friends and the Father’s Love,” describes the deep friendship he shared with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legend Bill Pinkney, said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, and three other vocal-group superstars: Prentiss Barnes and Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows and Rufus McKay of The Red Tops and Ink Spots.
Over the past four decades, Morris sold insurance by day and often worked and occasionally sang with these groups by night.
“The pinnacle moment was when I sang with The Moonglows at the induction ceremonies at the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame at the iconic Boston Symphony Hall,” said Morris, who produced The Original Drifters’ first two gospel CDs and hung out with such notables as Fats Domino, Charles “Please Come Home for Christmas” Brown, The Williams Brothers, Duke Fakir of The Four Tops, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wilson of The Supremes and many more.
“That’s the Who’s Who of rock ’n’ roll, and God put me squarely in the center of all those people’s lives,” Morris said.
His closest bonds, though, were formed with Barnes, Pinkney, Fuqua and McKay.
A 30 x 40-inch oil painting depicting four performers is one of the gifts Morris intends to donate to Ole Miss. The Morrises also plan to give the university Barnes’ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trophy, master tapes of The Drifters, gospel CDs, record albums, book collections related to the music and correspondence between Bill Morris and author Willie Morris (no relation).
Also included will be DVDs, photos, letters, news clippings and other memorabilia as well as rights to “This Magic Moment” and a coffee-table book he published, “Ole Miss at Oxford: A Part of Our Heart and Soul,” featuring photography of his alma mater. The gift will include the original negatives and other digital images of photos published in both books.
Lastly, Morris made Ole Miss the beneficiary of a couple of significant life insurance policies.
“Bill Morris has lived a fascinating life, and the materials he’s collected along the way will become an invaluable part of the archives here,” said Greg Johnson, head of Special Collections, Blues curator and professor. “We feel so fortunate to be the designated recipient of these unique treasures and we are so grateful to Bill and Camille for their generous donation. The timing of this gift is fortuitous, as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Blues Archive this September.”
Morris paid part of his way through Ole Miss as an event planner, coordinating and hosting dances to which he would sell tickets to high school and college students.
A distinguished military graduate, Morris served as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1966 in Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he served in the headquarters of the most senior officers in charge of training helicopter pilots before returning to Jackson to sell insurance — a profession that interested him since he was in eighth grade.
Now, he holds the designations of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). With 50 years of membership, he is a Life Member of the Million Dollar Round Table, which is comprised of top agents worldwide. He is a member of an advanced life underwriting association, a distinguished group that meets annually in Washington, D.C., to brief Congressional delegates on the intricacies of significant insurance matters.
He is the author of two books on disability income insurance as well as other insurance industry periodicals and has been quoted in U.S. News and World Report. He has, on numerous occasions, been a featured speaker at meetings of the International Million Dollar Round Table, Top of the Table, CLU, ChFC, AALU and CFP Commencement Forum National Conferences.
Morris is a founding member of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, Mississippi, and has served on many boards including his church, Young Life and the River Hills Tennis Club.
The Morrises have two adult daughters, Camille and Kathryn, and five grandchildren.
For more of Bill Morris’s story, click here.
For information on making a gift to the University of Mississippi, contact Charlotte Parks, vice chancellor for development, at cpparks@olemiss.edu or 662-915-3120; or visit http://give.olemiss.edu.
For information on methods for including the university in estate planning, contact Marc Littlecott, advancement director for estate and planned giving, at marcplan@olemiss.edu or 662-915-6625.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation