Elder Alexander B. Morrison, emeritus general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away quietly at home on February 12, 2018, after a long and valiant battle with Parkinson's disease.
Elder Morrison served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy from 1987 to 2001. During that time, he was a counsellor in the British Isles/Africa Area presidency and area president in the North America Southeast and Utah North Areas. Deeply committed to lifting the burdens of those suffering from poverty, homelessness and mental illness, he also lent his considerable talents and influence to community organizations in Utah.
Elder Morrison was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to Scottish immigrants and raised on a farm near Vermilion, Alberta.
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Education was one of Elder Morrison's lifelong passions. At 16 he enrolled in the University of Alberta, where he was a gold medallist in biochemistry. While studying there, he joined the Church and met and married his beloved wife, Shirley Brooks. After earning a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's degree in biochemistry from the University of Alberta, he earned a PhD in nutrition from Cornell University and a second master's degree in pharmacology from the University of Michigan.
Elder Morrison was a skilled scientist. For a quarter century, he led Canada’s version of the FDA as the federal assistant deputy minister of health and welfare. He was also a senior official at the World Health Organization, where he worked to end the scourge of river blindness in West Africa. In addition, he was chair of the department of food sciences at the University of Guelph.
Elder Morrison was a man of unusual intelligence, wisdom and generosity of spirit. He exuded love. Nothing gave him greater joy than his family — from his beloved wife to his newest great-grandchild. But above all, his life was shaped by his testimony of the restored gospel and his love of the Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Elder Morrison married his sweetheart, Shirley Brooks, in 1950. Their marriage was blessed with eight children: David (Josie), Barbara (Terry McKee), Howard (Wendy), Sandra (Peter Misinchuk), Allen (Angela), Jeffrey (Judith), Heather (Shawn Gunnarson) and Mary, as well as 24 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be held Saturday, February 24, at 11 a.m. at the Bountiful Utah Orchard Stake Centre, 3599 N. Orchard Drive. Friends and family may call Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, and Saturday at the stake centre from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Interment will take place at the Bountiful City Cemetery, 2224 S. 200 W. Online condolences are welcome at larkinmortuary.com.