Ethan James Morris

On May 17, 2025 the most important person in his parents’ lives left us unexpectedly. It has taken some time to get the strength to even put together these words to share about our Ethan. After nine years of marriage, Scott Charles Morris and Jami Makanalani Wood were so excited to welcome a son, Ethan James Morris. He was born in Bountiful, Utah on July 31, 2006. He was our only child and brought us immeasurable joy and pride in his short life.

Ethan started his life as an adorable, snuggly child who always said the funniest and most random things that kept us laughing like, "I just wish you had a different face," or the most precious things like, "I love you so much it hurts my feelings." He couldn’t help but strike a pose with a silly face to make us smile.

Even though Ethan was an only child he always had his dogs ready at his side to play. Bo, his Siberian Husky, was his sidekick and the perfect big brother. He was Ethan’s wrestling partner, a cleaner-upper of any food messes left behind and was also Ethan’s softest pillow to lay his head upon. Later, Santa brought him a big goofball of a dog he named Duke that he wanted us to send back (just teasing us of course). Years later Ethan picked out an extremely hyperactive shelter dog named Jax that has kept us busy ever since. These “brothers” brought even more laughter and fun to our family, and they’ve been missing “E” as well. Starting around age 4, Ethan’s favorite past time was baseball, and he was on several teams all the way up through high school. His Dad was always by his side, and they never missed a game or practice even with his Dad’s extremely busy work schedule. There was nothing more important than that time together. His Dad ended up being an assistant coach with most of the teams, so they got to spend a lot of fun times together. Every night you could find Ethan and his Dad playing catch in the backyard or practicing his pitch and his swing. Not even winter could stop them from having this special time together; Scott simply constructed an indoor batting cage at his shop that they'd put up and take down each weekend, inviting other baseball buddies down to take advantage of the indoor cage too. Ethan’s favorite baseball years were spent with The Mueller Park Sharks, and the friends he made there were like an extended family to him.

As a freshman, Ethan was picked to join the Woods Cross High School Wildcats baseball team where he mainly filled the position as pitcher. Ethan then graduated a year early in 2023. Since Ethan was young for his grade to begin with and then graduated early and headed straight to college, we were especially impressed with his hard work and determination.

At an early age, Ethan had been fascinated with how the human body worked. He excelled in the advanced classes he took in the medical field at high school, so he decided to focus on radiology and began taking classes to become a rad tech (radiology technician) at Salt Lake Community College. He could name off any bone or muscle in the human body and his mom learned more than she’d ever need to know during practice pop quizzes at home.

If Ethan had put his mind to something, he'd make it happen. Whether it was his education, healthy eating, exercising and even baking artisan breads, he always strived for excellence. During his school breaks he worked part-time at his Dad’s welding shop. He claimed to be a great welder after the 2nd or 3rd time attempting it. So, at that rate, he’d be better than his Dad in no time. Down at the shop, he had a great time with the crew, and he especially loved trying out all kinds of new toys his Dad would buy to restore and resell.

Ethan was gentle, soft-spoken and compassionate, but he could change that to protect or defend others. Ethan was observant of people’s feelings and problems, and he loved quietly and deeply. He was a stoic young man who often preferred solitude while sticking to his self-imposed, strict daily schedule which included running 10 miles per day on his fancy treadmill to music from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. A couple of years ago, he took up cooking and baking; it was only for a short time, but he went all in on it. He tackled difficult recipes with delicious results. Ethan and his Mom spent happy hours in the kitchen, enjoying the delightful adventure of exploring what he could make that would actually turn out great. Ethan was a foodie along with his Mom and loved trying new foods from different cultures. His favorite being Indian food. He couldn’t get enough of it! Ethan's Dad had worked so hard for years and was finally able to provide his family with his dream: to have a little cabin in the woods. Up near Scofield is where he found it, but it needed a lot of work. Ethan helped with some of the renovations but would, of course, much rather take out his motorcycle or four-wheeler, zipping through the endless dirt trails or fishing out on the boat. The cabin ended up being his favorite place to be. Being out in nature is where Ethan belonged. The cabin holds so many memories with Ethan we will cherish always. We will miss Ethan's sarcastic humor, him teasing his Dad, camping in the Uinta’s, hiking, building bonfires, playing video games, flying drones, target practice, stopping at any fruit and veggie stand we came across, watching science and nature documentaries and so, so many other things. We will especially miss seeing the amazing man he would most certainly have become.

Our hearts are broken, and we will never fill the void his passing has left us with. We will love and miss you Ethan, forever.

Ethan is preceded in death by his uncles, “Denny” Dennis Wayne Ahleen and Scott Randy Ahleen; paternal great-grandparents, “Cliff” James Clifford and Myrtle Ethelee Wesley Morris; and maternal great-grandparents, Wayne Robert and “Maxine” Norma Maxine Hunter Ahleen. Ethan is survived by his parents; many cousins and aunts and uncles; and all five of his grandparents: “Jan” Janis Jane Ahleen Morris of Bountiful; “Jim” James Charles and Lisa Gae Norman Morris of Morgan; and “Steve” Steven Wilson and Karen Evans Wood of Centerville. There will be no services at this time, but we hope to have a celebration of life gathering at a later date. We ask if anyone has stories and pictures to share, please do so in the online guestbook below. We don't want to miss out on any good memories out there to add to ours. Follow this link to see a Google photo album with some of our favorites: https://photos.app.goo.gl/R1r17Aa9PYyBK5jQ9

To honor our Ethan best, please help us carry on his personal quest each day: Keep choosing to be kind.