Strafford Morss

Strafford Morss, CDR, USN (Ret.), of Bonita Springs, FL, formerly of Westport, MA, died March 29, 2024. Son of the late Everett Morss and Anne (Wentworth) Morss, he grew up in Chestnut Hill, MA, and attended the Groton School and Harvard College, Class of 1957. After Naval OCS, he was commissioned as an Ensign, USN, serving on active duty from 1957 to 1962 but remained in the Naval Reserve, retiring as a Commander. After leaving active duty, he was employed for many years at the engineering firm Stone & Webster and also the Boston Shipyard. He had a lifelong fascination with battleships and from 1997 to 1999, he lived in Houston, TX, serving with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as the project manager to save the battleship USS Texas. After returning to Massachusetts, he continued his interest in battleships. He became a board member and chief preservation officer of the battleship USS Massachusetts, moored at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA, and in the late 1990s, he supervised its renovations in dry dock at the South Boston shipyard. Throughout the years Strafford was known as ”Mr.Battleship,” admired nationally and internationally for his outstanding knowledge of ships. He was a published author, writing for the Naval Institute Proceedings and Warship International, two highly acclaimed periodicals, as well as writing a series of highly detailed articles about USS Massachusetts. In 1997 he received the Casper J. Knight Award from the Historic Naval Ships Association. He is survived by his wife, Irene (Gomes) Morss; his sister, Anne (Morss) Combs, of Los Angeles; his brother, Everett Morss and his wife Pamela, of Magnolia, MA; his children: Alexandra (Morss) Daniell and Ruth Morss, of Cambridge, MA; Eliza (Morss) Krieger of Oakton, VA; and Mark Morss and his wife, Janet, of Austin, TX. Three granddaughters survive him: Alexandra Krieger, Helen Krieger, and Anne Krieger, of Oakton, VA. He is also survived by stepchildren Mark Enwright of Little Compton, RI; Jean St. Gelais of Westport, MA; and Thomas Enwright, also of Westport, MA. His brother, Anthony Morss, predeceased him, as did his stepson Eric Brenner. An avid yachtsman, he loved his time boating in Maine and Massachusetts on his Grand Banks trawler Good Fortune. He loved baseball and was an avid, loyal Boston Red Sox fan. He was a gentle giant with a quiet soul. Services will be private. To sign his guest register or to leave online condolences please visit www.ShikanyFuneralHome.com. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home Family Owned and Operated Since 1978.

Strafford Morss

February 11, 1935 - March 29, 2024