Beth Morrisett    Sherri Bilson    Ralph Phipps    Chase Brown    Bill Barowski    Jennifer Barnett    Betty Williams    Bobby Bernard    Skip Gilkerson   

Beth Morrisett: The Widow Volunteer

Beth Morrisett can be seen most often at the counter at Twice Blessed Consignment Shop, ringing a bell for the Salvation Army or volunteering with the Lions Club. Her passion for service precedes her wherever she goes.

"Giving back is something that we should do because we're grateful for living where we live in the times that we live," said Morrisett.

She said she lives by the Wrigley Chewing Gum principal. One pack of chewing gum doesn't amount to much, she said, but if enough packages are sold in enough stores in enough cities in enough countries, then "you have a humongous amount of money."

"And the same is true about volunteer time," she said.

Recently Morrisett lost her husband, John, after a lifetime of “making him the right guy.”

“He was my best friend,” she said.

John and Beth started dating in the ninth grade and married after John enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school. She helped him work his way through college and together they have three daughters and six grandchildren.

“He was his own person and he encouraged me to be my own person,” she said. “I couldn’t wish more for anyone.”

The Morrisetts lived in a house built in 1908 on San Antonio Street, which was sold in 1995.

“In 1996, we couldn’t find a place to move to, so John took a saw and cut out enough trees so we could build a house where we’re located right now,” she said.

John and Beth owned a clothing store called Accents in Fashion, which sat on the north side of the square for 11 years. They sold ladies clothing and lingerie to San Marcos residents and were well recognized in town.

“We had a lot of men that were mad at us when we sold the store because they didn’t know where to go to buy their ladies gifts,” she said.

After they sold the store, Morrisett went to work at Southwest Texas University in the College of Business Administration and the Correspondence Studies and Continuing Education Department. She retired in 1998.

“No regrets,” she said. “If I had my life to do over, I’d do it just the way I did.”

Beth Morrisett's story was originally published in the San Marcos Daily Record on June 29, 2009.