Russell Scott Morgan

Russell Carter Morgan, August 1942 - June 2025. A proud "Navy-brat," an avid sailor, photographer, dance instructor, and salesman, he met the first love of his life and committed to her home-seat of Boone County, AR, circa 1967, at once taking the moniker “Uncle Russ” to connect on a familiar level with citizens of his new home.

A gifted entrepreneur, Uncle Russ had a plethora of ideas to generate opportunities for access and entertainment and to create value for the underserved, including: Golf-A-Go-Go (putt-putt); and, on the Harrison Square, Uncle Russ’s Photography Studio; Ye Olde Frame Shoppe and Gold and Silver Exchange; Aardvark arcade games and roadside sign rentals; and co-founded Yournet, the Ozarks’ first Internet Service Provider. And he married: first, Bonnie Sullins, then Jan Adams, then Debbie White, supporting their self-starting business ideas, as well. With each marriage ending in divorce, Russ continually worked to improve his temperament with self help books and tapes on mindfulness and philosophy and discovered, in profound relationships with his daughters Paris and Kaytie, a guiding light. 

In the 1980s he bought the Little Bell Wedding Chapel in Bellefonte, AR, and, becoming a minister, provided personally tailored weddings with deep moral truths at flexible pricing for couples and families to begin (and sometimes restart) their lives together. Whereas photography (for yearbooks, rodeos, pageants, weddings, and real estate from the cockpit of a Cessna) had been his delight before, the Little Bell allowed him to revel in his favorite subject, weddings; he made the chapel "cable ready" with recorded music and remote controlled camera operations and styled it with candelabra, polished pews, and a dais where sacred vows were invoked for each and every couple, whether they be rich tourists on a lark, or a solemn local grave-digger and night-shift nurse.

Enlightened by the least privileged, he began his next venture: providing affordable housing to those in need, as he acquired local properties and responded to various housing challenges, often independently.

Russ was preceded in death by his dearly missed parents and a stillborn baby boy. He is survived by siblings Kest, Pamela, his "book-end brother" Joe; daughters Kaytie and Paris and their beloved families; his ex-wives; the much-admired spouses, children, and grandchildren of his siblings; and longtime friends and neighbors, such as Sandy. His life was a hero's journey, and his memory is a blessing.

His family wishes to thank Deborah for her impeccable assistance to him; the health-carers and administrators of Countryside Assisted Living; and the compassionate staff of Hospice of the Hills. His family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to regional organizations that offer skill-building or recreation to young or old. 

For visitation, a temporary marker is placed at Maple Leaf Cemetery. A memorial service is being planned for the first weekend of October, after monuments have been permanently placed. The obituary will be updated on the website with the date and time when it is determined.  All are welcome.

God Bless Russ!

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