Eagle Point, Ore. — As someone who would sit in the front row to cheer her daughter on, the Eagle Point head softball coach thought it was a perfect idea to dedicate their first playoff game to Shannon O’Morris.
“Honoring her and her always being our biggest fan was a really big deal for me,” softball player Samantha Thompson said.
Two weeks ago, the Eagle Point community lost someone dear to their hearts when Shannon O’Morris was killed in a car accident as she was taking her newborn son to the doctor.
“It’s been incredibly hard. A lot of tears,” Thompson said.
Known as a big part of the softball community, the team chose to honor O’Morris in their first playoff game Wednesday evening.
“Just trying to keep the emotions in tact and all of our girls really care about Tella and just trying to help her get through all of this,” Head softball coach John White said.
Tella is O’Morris’s daughter and she says she couldn’t be more thankful for the support from those around her.
“I think this game shows a lot of how awesome Eagle Point is and how everyone is there for anyone at any time,” Tella Morris said.
O’Morris is described as a patient, kind and loving special education teacher.
Samantha Thompson, who grew up with O’Morris and Tella, says O’Morris taught her valuable lessons on how to treat everyone equally.
“She exposed me to the world of like, people that are affected by autism and the meaning of like, accepting them because they’re humans too,” Thompson said.
While O’Morris will be sorely missed, Tella is reminded of her mom in her baby brother.
“He’s just like my mom and I think that’s awesome,” Morris said.
Thompson says she will continue playing her softball games in honor of O’Morris.
“She definitely left a beautiful memory for all of us, but I’d give anything to see her smile one more time,” Thompson said.
If you’d like to support the Morris family, you can visit gofundme.com/shannon-o-morris.
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