Charles W. Morris ’25
Charles Morris died Nov. 27, 1994. He was born in Memphis Aug. 26, 1902. He prepared at Andover. At Princeton, he graduated with honors in history. He roomed with Herb Osgood.
After a year at the Univ. of Bordeaux, he was called back to Mississippi, where his parents and all the state were building levees to hold back the 1927 floods. He later moved to Santa Monica and became the owner and manager of a hotel and of numerous other properties.
He was a charter member of Planned Parenthood in L.A., an early member of Rotary Ind. and the United Nations Assn., and was active in Princeton affairs. He was also active in the Shore Line Planning Group, which kept drilling away from Monica Bay, among other things. He was president of the board of trustees of the local Unitarian Church and was active in many charities.
He died at his home with his wife, Natalie Woodward, at his side. He is also survived by three sons, Donald, James, and Robert. The class extends its sympathy to the family.
Paw in print
November 2026
History is in Terri Sewell ’86’s hands; campus mental health culture; the two Princetons.
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Valerie J. Larson
1 Month AgoRemembering Charles and His California Home
He was a wonderful husband, father, and son and served in the Special Envoy in the South Pacific in 1941, at age 39. MacArthur was recruiting older Ivy League students, and Charles spent time in France and mastered French fluently. He was perfect for the job. His home in Santa Monica was owned by MacArthur’s wife, and he bought it when she left California to go back to New York. It had been turned into a rooming house due to the shortage of housing after the war. It is a landmark home designed by Robert Farquhar built in 1910 and was a family home until the death of his wife Natalie in 2016. The original home had to look exactly as it did originally and is in a Charlie Chaplin film from 1914 Mabel at the Wheel. Charles made many trips to Princeton and was an active alumni. Being that he was born in 1902, the home had a magnificent dining room and he had a Teddy Roosevelt stuffed bear as a child. After his death the bear sat at the head of the table holding a sterling silver spoon. Natalie took a necktie to fit the bear and it is a memory that will always stay with me. Being that he was a Southern boy born in Memphis and raised in Greenville, Mississippi, we can see him having mint Julips on the front lawn on Ocean Avenue. The California Coastal Commision approved the renovation of the home, which was completed in 2021 after COVID. At least some homes from 1910 remain standing and not torn down and replaced with steel and concrete. It is a stark difference in visiting Europe to see so many older homes. Growing up in California, at 79 years old yesterday I barely remember anything that is still standing. I built a gorgeous traditional home in the Pacific Palisades and it burned down with almost 7,000 structures. Princeton is a long way from California but between, fires, earthquakes and natural disasters things are changing in the west.