Nina Morrison
Hilarious, beautiful, intelligent, caring, original, amazing. Some of the words used to describe the remarkable Nina Morrison, beloved daughter of Sol and Shirley Morrison who lost her valiant battle with cancer on May 28, 2017. Her nephew Ziv noted that “she was courageous and wasn’t afraid of society’s etiquette.” She had a soft side, which she shared with close friends, encouraging them to follow their own paths. She doled out sage advice and showed concern even during the times she was busy or ill. She did have a knack for saying things that were audacious. She liked to shake people up for her own entertainment and sanity, which made talking to her really fun.
She believed that people should live their lives any way they wanted, and as her sister Tova put it “she was adept at comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable.”
Born in Los Angeles, she grew up in Santa Barbara where her family moved when she was an infant. After graduating from Santa Barbara High School she moved to San Francisco and eventually Portland, Oregon. A big city girl she thrived in the liberal urban culture these larger cities provided. Wherever she lived, she collected good true friends, co-workers, housemates and other kindred souls who appreciated her self deprecating, sharp and sometimes dark humor. When she graduated from San Francisco State, she smiled all day and never took off the mortarboard until she went to sleep that night. She had worked full time while carrying a full course load.
Nina was great with words and a creative writer, but because she was independent and practical she got her degree in technical writing, which served her well in her jobs in administration in hotel management, business, Rogue Brewing Company and at Oregon Health and Science University, a position she especially loved.
She was a glamorous woman who loved clothes and to dress up. She admitted to being a tad tacky and had her collection of tattoos to prove it. She loved her tattoos and her collection of quirky clothes. They reflected her inventiveness, humor and unswerving originality.
Although she lived with cancer on and off for 6 years, she did not dwell on it, instead got on with her life, enjoying travel, movies, food, her friends and her kitties.
She leaves behind her parents, her sister Tova, her nephew Ziv, and her boon cat companion, Buttermilk, as well as aunts, uncles, cousins and numerous devoted friends.
Nina was a lifelong reader and lifetime cat lover. Those wishing to remember Nina may make a donation in her name to the Library Foundation of Los Angeles; attention Nettie Frishman Fund (which honors her adored and adoring Grandmother) 630 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071 or donate to your local Humane Society or Cat Rescue agency.