Dr. Bette Morris | Topeka Business Hall of Fame
Growing up on a farm in the West Texas panhandle during the Great Depression, Dr. Bette Morris learned that every person’s contribution was essential to the success of the family business. That belief in the power of combined strengths has influenced every personal and business endeavor throughout her life.
This year, Bette joins the Junior Achievement of Kansas Topeka Business Hall of Fame, honored for a lifetime of business leadership and community service.
Bette’s parents placed a high value on education. They supported her attending Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition.
Many of her fellow graduates became teachers, but one of Bette’s professors encouraged her to apply for fellowships at universities with strong public health nutrition programs. She received a two-year fellowship from the Cornell University Graduate School of Nutrition in Ithaca, New York.
“This was quite an adventure for me,” Bette said.
Before this, Bette’s only travel outside Texas or Colorado had been family car trips to national parks. She had never flown before. This trip involved flying to New York City, then connecting by bus to a different airport to fly to Ithaca in upstate New York.
When she arrived in Ithaca, alone and unsure where to go next, Bette noticed a group of foreign students waiting for their guide to take them to campus. She asked if she could join them and they welcomed her with open arms. She thought it was interesting that she, a native of the United States, was welcomed and taken in by students from other countries.
At the time, it was customary at Cornell for veterinary students to help register the incoming students. When Bette attended registration, she was assigned to a student. He introduced himself as Mark Morris.
“Mark took all of the information he was supposed to take. He also asked for my phone number,” Bette said.
Mark called her soon after and they discovered they shared many interests. That was the beginning of their life together. Almost a year after they met, Bette and Mark were married in the First United Methodist Church in Canyon, Texas, before returning to Ithaca to finish their degrees.
After Mark and Bette both graduated from Cornell, they moved to Topeka, where Mark planned to go into the family business before the government drafted him into the Army during the Korean War. Mark was assigned to the Army Biological Warfare Center in Frederick, Maryland. Bette joined him there.
During their two years in Maryland, Bette taught nutrition to nursing and college students. They also decided to start a family.
When the military service was complete, the Morris family moved to Wisconsin so Mark could pursue specialized training in biochemistry and pathology. Bette once again taught nutrition classes to student nurses at the university. Their two sons were born at the University of Wisconsin Hospital.
When Mark’s father needed help managing Theracon, a pet nutrition product research program, the family moved to Topeka. Bette chose to put her career on hold so she could focus on raising their sons and baby daughter.
Bette played an integral role in helping Mark grow the business as he developed and refined the research program. One of the many ways her individual strengths contributed to the collective success was in building design. Whenever Mark needed a new building, Bette would take over project management, helping design the space to test new products and ensuring employees had appropriate office space.
“Mark called me his resident architect,” Bette said.
In the process of raising her own children, Bette developed a passion for helping other parents. She saw firsthand the importance parenting plays in a child’s ability to thrive. Wanting to pursue that passion in a more professional manner, and with her youngest child now in high school, Bette went back to school, earning a doctorate from Kansas State University in child development and family studies in 1992.
“My plan was to begin doing research and writing about family dynamics and parenting,” Bette said. “However, that was about the same time that our business was sold. Our focus needed to go in a different direction.”
Bette and Mark concentrated their efforts on managing the company’s investment portfolios in ways that would help change the world for the better. She also stayed true to her dream of helping families and children.
At the local and state levels, she focused her board service on organizations that help children. Gov. Sebelius recognized the contributions she’d made to children through her work with the Kansas Children’s Service League, proclaiming April 23, 2004, as Dr. Bette M. Morris Day.
“Kansas children are better today for the contributions of Dr. Bette Morris,” Sebelius said.
After Mark passed away in 2007, Bette assumed many of the responsibilities she and Mark shared over the years, providing continuing leadership for the family’s business investment portfolios.
While the Morris Family Foundation has helped countless children across Kansas and animals across the world, Bette has a few projects that are dear to her heart. When the Kansas Children’s Service League needed a new office building, she not only helped with funding but also chaired the committee to help with the design. Bette played an integral role in helping determine where it should be located, what it should look like and how it should be built for the most effective use.
“I had a lot of practice with building design,” she said. “After all, I had already been doing that for Mark for many years.”
In addition to supporting causes that help improve the lives of children and families, Bette continues to support one of Mark’s favorite causes: The Topeka Zoo. Mark and Gary Clarke, the Topeka Zoo’s first director, were best friends and involved with the early development of the zoo.
“We have been supporters of the zoo from day one,” Bette said. “And I have continued to support the zoo since Mark’s death to help it thrive and grow.”
The Morris family’s latest contribution to the Topeka Zoo was helping to build a new facility for the Sumatran tiger breeding program.
Looking back on a long life full of accomplishments, Bette is most proud of having raised three successful children who are making their own contributions to the world. She is also grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many families in her own community.
“Topeka has been wonderful to me. It felt like home from the moment I arrived, and I have been lucky that I have been able to help this community grow,” Bette said.
In recognition of her commitment to the community, Washburn University awarded Bette an honorary doctorate in 2024 for her contributions to Washburn and the City of Topeka.
Even now, at age 91, Bette is still working to make Topeka the best possible place for families to thrive. She can be found at the office every day, helping guide operations and investment management. She is also active in the Topeka Rotary Club, working on an initiative to reduce plastic waste.
With her induction into the Junior Achievement of Kansas Topeka Business Hall of Fame, Bette joins an elite group of individuals recognized by the business community for their outstanding service to Topeka. From that storied list, another name stands out for Bette: Mark Morris, inducted posthumously in 2011.
“I am humbled to receive this award from Junior Achievement,” Bette said. “It is such an honor.”
