John L. Morse, 87, of Bristol, RI and Sandwich, MA, died peacefully on June 24, 2020 at the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence, RI. He was the husband of Virginia (Healy) Morse and the son of David and Marion (McClellan) Morse of Cranston, RI.

John graduated in 1958 from the University of RI, with a Business Degree. He retired in 1992 as Principal Officer and Vice President of Textron, Inc., was a US Army Veteran who served in Germany from 1954-1957, an FAA licensed drone pilot, and an award-winning photographer. He served on the Board of Directors for many local institutions throughout the years. Among the community organizations he served were:

• 1975-1981 Hattie Ide Chaffie Nursing Home, Board of Directors
• 1975-1981 RI Credit Union, Chairman of the Board of Directors
• 1984-1989 Greater Providence YMCA, Board of Directors
• 1985-1986 Barrington Insurance Committee, Chairman of the Board of Directors
• 1991-1996 North Farm Homeowners, Board of Governors, Treasurer

John’s extensive business and insurance risk management career began at Starkweather & Shepley, Providence, in 1958. He was offered a position in the Risk Management Department at Textron, Inc, a multibillion dollar conglomerate, where he spent most of his career from 1962-1992, with a position as President of Frank B. Hall & Company, in Providence, from 1973-1977.

In addition to his wife of sixty-one years, John is survived by his son, Steven Morse and his wife Sherry (Gee) Morse; and his daughter Shelley Pavlis and her husband Alexander Pavlis. John was the beloved and proud grandfather of Declan Marshall Morse, John Athan Pavlis, Christopher Alexander Pavlis and his wife Chelsie (Engstrom) Pavlis, and great grandfather of Greyson Reign Pavlis. He is also survived by his brother, David Morse, MD and his wife Joan Morse of Topsham, Maine, his niece Susan (Morse) Galereave and her wife Kiki Zeldes and their daughter Jasmine Galereave and son Jesse Zeldes, and his nephew Dan Morse and his daughters Inanna Morse and Mira Morse; his sister-in-law, Elaine (Healy) Hale of Barrington, RI, nieces Cynthia (Hale) Stevens and her husband Michael, Kim Hale and her partner Diane Blackwell, Nancy Hale, Laura Hale and her partner Hans Scholl, Kate Murphy, and nephew Ryan Stevens. He was predeceased by his brother-in-law and best friend Theodore Williams Hale, his niece Amy Williams Hale, his sister-in-law Deborah (Brush) Morse and his niece Cynthia Morse.

John and Virginia were congregants of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Barrington, RI. The internment will be private, and the family will have a celebration of John’s wonderful life when it is safe and appropriate.

If friends would like to memorialize John, please donate to the Hope Health Hulitar Hospice Center, 1085 North Main St, Providence, RI 02904

https://www.hopehealthco.org/ways-to-give/donatenow/. Arrangements made by Smith-Mason Funeral Home.