Robert W. Morrison was an American educator from Ashland, Kentucky

Ashland, Kentucky

Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...

. He was a member of the Elks

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...

, the Kentucky Education Association, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association

Kentucky High School Athletic Association

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has been the governing body of Kentucky high school athletics since 1917. Located in Lexington, the organization sanctions competition in the following sports:*Boys and girls**Basketball**Bowling*...

, and the Ashland Board of Education, in addition to being a Kentucky colonel

Kentucky colonel

Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...

, a University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 101 Club member, and a United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 veteran who served during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

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Morrison's career as an educator, coach and school board member spanned almost five decades and two school districts. Most notable was his involvement with the Fairview Independent school system

Fairview Independent Schools (Kentucky)

Fairview Independent Schools is a public school district based in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The district serves the area within the census-designated place of Westwood. The district consists of two schools: Fairview High School and Fairview Elementary School...

. Morrison first came to Fairview in 1960 and spent some years as a classroom teacher before moving into administration in 1979, first as assistant principal and then principal of Fairview High School

Fairview High School (Kentucky)

Fairview High School is a public high school in Westwood, Boyd County, Kentucky, a census-designated place closely affiliated with Ashland, Kentucky...

, a position which he held for twenty-nine years.

In addition to his time as a teacher, Morrison coached multiple sports — football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 and golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

. At various times he was head coach in baseball, track and golf.

Retiring in 1994, Morrison missed the school and returned a year later, spending much of his time there. In addition, Morrison served for several years on the Ashland school board.

After Morrison's death in 2008, aged seventy-five, his funeral was held at the Robert W. Morrison Gymnasium at Fairview Elementary School. School was canceled in the Fairview district to accommodate the funeral.