In their own words

Friends remember Chase.

In the days, weeks, and months after Chase died, the people who knew him — a third-grade teacher, a homeless friend he had befriended at age five, classmates, a tennis teammate, his brother — wrote publicly about who he was. We have preserved a small selection here. Each quotation appears as it was originally written.

A brother

Twenty-nine days after.

"For a couple of hours tonight I sat by you, Chase Morris. My heart was broken, and my eyes were crying out. I miss you more than anything. You were a great brother and I didn't even realize it. Bub I love you so much." — Reagan Morris  ·  Chase's brother  ·  June 18, 2013
The boy before the athlete

Who he was at five, at eight, at thirteen.

"I had the great privilege of being Chase's 3rd grade teacher. Even as a child he could light up a room with his charisma." — Brook Loftis  ·  Third-grade teacher  ·  May 22, 2013

Some of the people who wrote about Chase had known him since he was a small boy. One in particular described a kindness most adults never produce, performed by a five-year-old.

"A dear young friend. I got to thinking of you Chase today. You befriended me when you were only five and I was homeless. You were the only little kid I ever knew who considered others' feelings. I will always [keep] the Bible you gave me, inscribed from you, as my best friend. What an honor." — Dave Thompson  ·  Family friend  ·  September 30, 2013
Classmates

The kid who could derail a test review.

Chase's classmates wrote about a sense of humor that, by the eleventh grade, was already legendary in the small town of Grove. The story below was told often after his death, in slightly different versions. The teacher's name appears in the original post; we have left the spelling as it was written.

"I remember when we were sitting in Botts' class and he randomly gets up out of his chair and screams 'hole in one, hole in one!!' Botts was like, just sit down Chase, we're trying to go over this for the test. Then Chase says, 'Botts, I don't think you understand. I just got a hole in one and beat Tiger Woods. Something like this doesn't just happen, it deserves celebration!!'" — Andria Rowe  ·  Classmate  ·  May 21, 2013

Another classmate — one who, in her own words, was not particularly close with Chase — described what it was like to have him show up for her.

"He witnessed my first car wreck and from then on would honk at me, do anything to get my attention, just to ask if I'd gotten in any more wrecks. He was always making everything into a joke. I never once saw him without a smile on his face." — Victoria Gibby  ·  Classmate  ·  May 21, 2013
A friend

"You had me laughing so hard."

One of Chase's closest friends spent the evening of May 19, 2013 with him. They played basketball at the courts. They laughed until they couldn't stand. The friend posted a long memory of that last night together; we have preserved the part of it that captures the boy his friends knew.

"I've been thinking about you all day, buddy. Grateful that I got to spend that last night with you. Grateful that I got to play basketball at the courts with you. At one point you had me laughing so hard that I literally couldn't stand anymore and dropped to my knees. I remember coming over and you would sic Toby on me. You would say, 'get him Toby! Get him, boy!' Still to this day I can remember exactly how you said it, like it was just yesterday." — Dillon Boydston  ·  Friend  ·  2013
Tennis

From a teammate, the day of the funeral.

Chase's funeral was held the morning of May 25, 2013. Around noon that day, one of his tennis teammates posted six words.

"Don't worry — there's tennis courts in heaven." — Maxwell Harp  ·  Tennis teammate  ·  May 25, 2013
A note from the family

There are many more voices than fit on this page. We have selected the ones that most clearly speak to who Chase was — not who he might have become, and not how we lost him, but who he already was at sixteen. If you are a friend, classmate, or community member who wrote about Chase after his death and would like the family to consider your words for inclusion, please write to us at contact@chasemorrisfoundation.org.

Continue

More about Chase.

Chase's full story → What his family did next → In Memory →
“Chase, I miss you so much. As this school year starts my heart breaks. I was so excited to be in the same school as you. You were going to teach me so much in tennis. You will never be forgotten in my heart — I will always ‘play for chase’, no doubt. I think everyone will, hopefully. You impacted so many. It overwhelmed me. Yes, I know we fought a lot, but we knew we loved each other. I am, and always will, think about you. I love you very much. I miss you more than you would ever imagine. You are always my MCM. — #michaelchasemorris”
— Reagan Morris, Chase’s younger brother. Posted to Instagram in late summer 2013, the start of the first school year after Chase’s death.
“Chase Morris, you will never know how much you mean to me. You were my absolute best friend and this is unreal. No one knows why these things happen but we just have to trust in the Lord. You touched so many people’s hearts and are such an amazing guy. You will be missed. I love you, Chase Morris. We know heaven just got the best. I didn’t believe you when you said you’d be the richest person ever later on — and sure enough, you are.”
— Mason Jeffries, friend. Posted May 21, 2013, the day after Chase’s death.
“Chase, you were one of the funniest people I know. I would always call you my mini Will Ferrell and sit by you at games so you would make me laugh. No matter what, you would always put a smile on my face. You didn’t even have to say anything.”
— Jessica Walker, classmate at Grove High School. Posted May 21, 2013.
“Just visited Chase. As I stood there in the calm, the wind gently blowing, the song of nature in the background, I stopped to admire the ribbons and the beautiful plants. I was reminded of the loss felt by so many, but also reminded of the strength of a community, and the love shown by its youth. As the start of a new year approaches I know there will be difficult days ahead — however, embrace those days to love each other, comfort each other, and demonstrate compassion for each other. Chase’s spirit lives on in each of his family members and friends. Celebrate that, and in doing so we will always have Chase with us.”
— Margie Hayes, member of the Grove community. Posted July 31, 2013, after visiting Chase’s grave.
“It’s been a year ago today, and I still can’t accept that you’re gone. It hasn’t gotten any easier, like they all say it will. But honestly, I know it never will. You should be graduating this week, participating in all the senior pranks, walking these halls with us for your last few days of high school, preparing yourself for OU in the fall — but that was all taken from you way too soon. I miss everything about you: those hugs, that laugh, your smile.”