Jeffrey Cass Morrell

January 30, 1958 - December 22, 2019

Jeffrey Cass Morrell, age 61, passed away in peace on December 22, 2019 at his home in Kailua, O’ahu. He was surrounded by his loving family. Jeff was born on January 30, 1958 in Jamestown, New York, the son of John and Judy Morrell. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1981 and received a Master’s of Science in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University in 1983. He moved to Hawai’i with his wife, Laurel Chun, to whom he was married for 32 years. Jeff and Laurel have two daughters, Kai and Ke’ala Morrell. Jeff was an environmental engineer and he loved his work. He was a passionate problem solver and enjoyed creating clever solutions to the world’s problems. Through his dedicated work, he made the world a safer, cleaner place. Outside of engineering, Jeff was an active outdoorsman. He loved surfing, swimming, snorkeling, river rafting, hiking, camping and all types of outdoor adventures. He loved planting native plants around his home and identifying plants on hikes. Jeff was an amazing husband, father, uncle and friend. He was a great cook and a competitive, strategic board game player. He was kind to everyone he met and went out of his way to help those around him in any way he could. Jeff is survived by his parents, John and Judy Morrell; wife, Laurel Chun, and daughters, Kai and Ke’ala Morrell; sister and brother-in-law, Beth and Peter Honebein, sister and brother-in-law, Karin Morrell Haid and John Haid; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Robyn Chun and Don Tarleton; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Sherlyn and Garrett Goo; and nieces and nephews, Cassie Tarleton, Julianne Chun, Cass Honebein, Jacob Whitley and Carter Haid. A service to celebrate Jeff’s life will be held at Diamond Head Memorial Park on Saturday, February 22 at 4:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to one of Jeff’s favorite non-profit organizations: Hawaii Public Radio (HPR), hawaiipublicradio.org or 955-8821. Jeff was a devoted HPR supporter. He loved the news programs; the Puzzle; Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me; Story Core and Hawaiian music - broadcast and live. He was also an avid consumer of Public Radio podcasts. AccesSurf, https://www.accessurf.org/donate/. AccesSurf provides swimming and surfing experiences to people with disabilities. Jeff loved volunteering at AccesSurf’s monthly “Day at the Beach” events. He helped teach swimming and would paddle out with the Water Safety Team. Donations to both organizations may be made “In Memory of Jeff Morrell” in the comment sections.