Arnold Thomas Morris

Arnold Thomas Morris, Sr. (71) July 29, 1946 – August 23, 2017. Coworkers knew him as Arnie, friends and family as Tom, and O.B. (old bastard) was the name lovingly given to Arnold Morris for the second half of his life (the “after heart attack“ part). “Here’s a roll of toilet paper and a hundred bucks, now what are you gonna do?” was a graduation gift given to one of kids. He did this knowing he had prepared them well, teaching them by example what hard work was all about. O.B. spent 1964-1968 in the Army, requesting three different times to be sent to Viet Nam, a heart murmur keeping him from seeing action. Following the Army, he spent over twenty years working for the Hostess bakery, often taking double shifts to make sure his kids were taken care of. O.B. knew how to have a good time, too, starting neighborhood water fights and sneaking Twinkies and Tiger Tails home in his lunch box for the kids to enjoy. After surviving a heart attack in 1995, he had a quintuple bypass surgery and had to slow things down just a bit. He retired from Hostess, and when son Tom Jr. decided to open his own tattoo shop, O.B. was right there to help set things up. All American Tattoo became the place you could find him most days, where he served as honorary operations manager. It seemed just about as many people came to visit O.B. as came to get tattooed. If he wasn’t at the tattoo shop, he might be found hunting and fishing with sons Steve and Dan. He might be helping friends or family fix something, or he might be picking up a grandkid from sports or music practice. He never said no to a request for help, and he could be counted on to attend the grandkids’ Christmas programs, birthday parties, concerts and sporting events. When O.B. came into this world he joined his parents: James William and Pearl Lorene (Smelcher) Morris, and his siblings: John, Gary, Pearl, and Loren. After having several health setbacks this spring, he moved in with his daughter Janenne, a nurse, who cared for him in her home until he left this world, taking our hearts with him. He was surrogate father to many, and friend to all. O.B. is survived by his sister, Pearl; children Janenne Neumiller, Tom Jr. (Aimee), Steve (Stacy), Dan (Katie); grandchildren James, Zachary, Alex, Brandon, Logan, Autumn, and Pepper; and his little dog, Roscoe. Services will be held Saturday, September 2nd in the Sunset Chapel at Fairmount Memorial Park, 5200 W. Wellesley Ave, Spokane. Start time will be at 11am sharp, due to military honors. A reception at the VFW (Washington St. and Maxwell Ave.) will be held following the service. “Love ya and sh*t.”