Annette Morris passed away in Hutto, Texas on Monday, September 12, 2022, at age 74.

Annette was born August 1, 1948, to David J. Morris, Sr., and Norah Juanita Sentell Morris in Brownwood, Texas, her father’s hometown. Annette was the youngest of three and the only girl, and her early memories were rich with family and neighbors enjoying life and the finer things in it – boisterous poker games and company, rich and fine dining, and cozy but beautifully appointed homes. Annette and her siblings lost their dad when Annette was 10; afterwards their mother taught history at Brownwood High School to provide for them. In 1966, Annette graduated from Brownwood High, and went on to study art at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Bachelor’s degree and settled in Austin for the next 30 years. The 1970s were a big turning point in Annette’s life. She married in 1969 and after a decade concluded it was not for her. She lost her mother and grandmother (“Supergranny”) in those years. Early work experiences included graphic design for Texas Parks and Wildlife and for Seton Hospital, but she came to realize a greater passion for creating her own art and living her life on her terms. Annette launched herself as an independent, female artist, not easy even in the late 1970s, when there were still barriers for women to initiate a credit card or assume a mortgage without a man’s permission. Annette became a skilled stone lithograph artist, with a passion for depicting Mayan culture and the Texas countryside. She spent two decades traveling the country in her black Ford “Darth Van,” exhibiting and selling her work at art shows, keeping a beautiful home in Austin as a base and supporting herself with her art sales.

Annette loved road trips, river rafting, gag gifts (like Morris the Cat t-shirts for all Sentell family members), cats, wine, food and gourmet cooking, gardening, reunions with high school girlfriends, small-scale construction, Halloween and Thanksgiving gatherings, cultural expeditions with academic researchers, and using her art to complement the work of her colleagues and friends whom she greatly esteemed. She had a great appetite for life – explaining the picture in this obituary, Annette said, “My friends shoved all those dishes in front of me because I could eat like a stevedore.” She loved to surprise people at important moments in their lives with grand gestures, such as generous gifts (like sneaking a honeymoon gift basket on a plane for newlyweds) or honorary celebrations (like gathering a dying friend’s loved ones to celebrate her one last time).

In the early 2000s she seized the new millennial moment, sold her Austin home, bought and customized a white Ford E-150, and took off roaming the United States. She found inspiration in the beauty of each place and group of people she came across, writing flowery missives to a group of eager readers vicariously living her nomad life. Upon satisfying her thirst for that kind of adventure, she resettled outside of Thorndale, Texas, residing in a blackland prairie farmhouse by the grace of benefactors Sanna Conoley and Elizabeth Clarke, who wanted to support an inspiring artist and friend. The Thorndale farm gave her the opportunity to create another beautiful, cozy sanctuary, with many neighbors including dozens of different birds (especially her beloved hummingbirds), butterflies, stray cats, cows, feral hogs, snakes (she liked snakes), armadillos, skunks, deer, and a bajillion insects. The farm was a refuge while she fought off her first bout with cancer, and when the second cancer revealed itself a year ago, she managed to remain there until the last few weeks of her life.

Annette was preceded in death by her oldest brother, David Jefferson Morris, Jr. (“Jeff”), in 2020. Annette is survived by her brother Dan Morris, her nieces, Marian Morris of Austin and Michelle Morris Debien of Atlanta, Georgia, along with her nephew-in-law, David Debien, grandniece Pallas Debien, step-grandnephew Ariel Debien, and Nebelung feline, Chaco Morris. Annette was beloved by many cousins, particularly Helen Sentell Czajkowski of Santa Cruz, California; Tom and Beverly Rasor of Dallas and their daughters, Amy Rasor of Phoenix, Arizona, and Lindsay Rasor of Dallas; Linda Rasor Cain of Merritt Island, Florida; and many fond friends, including Kathy O’Brien, Becky Brownlee, Dick Geist, Larry Oliverson, and Pat Richardson.

Annette was an agnostic, fantasist, and dreamer; for those reasons, there will be no religious or funeral services. Friends and loved ones will be invited this fall to reminisce, tell stories, and laugh as if she were still with us. She appreciated the years she got to live, so even though we will miss her terribly, we want to celebrate that we had her in our lives. Please send no flowers. However, if you wish to do so, please donate in Annette’s memory to Emancipet-Austin or to Our Serenity House, the personal care home in Hutto where she made her transition, are preferred. An undated note in Annette’s distinctive handwriting instructed us to please celebrate her by swimming in a river, adopting a shelter pet, savoring a bowl of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, keeping a birdbath filled, or watching a sunset. So please do.