James Field Morris Jr., an accomplished neon glass artist, died on April 15, 2025, in the place he loved best, the Great Peninsula of Puget Sound. He was 75 years old. His tube bending designs took inspiration from Americana – cars with tail fins, palm trees, cheeseburgers, and well-endowed women – and still adorn Seattle restaurants, businesses and public spaces. Creative and intense, he wielded an acerbic sense of humor. Uncompromising, tireless and always a dreamer, he lived life on his own terms. Despite a long chronic illness, he defied the odds and was indefatigable until the end.
Jim was born in Evanston, Illinois, in 1950. His father, James Field Morris Sr., was a Professor of Science at Northwestern University and was known for the scientific glass apparatus he designed and fabricated. James Sr.’s career sparked a lifelong passion for the neon glass arts in his son. Jim’s mother, Lucille (Lucy), was a homemaker and later a teacher of children with special needs. His aunt, Margaret Morris, owned a vacation home in Tokeland, Washington, and it was summers spent there as a child that Jim first became enamored with the Pacific Northwest.
Jim pursued his education at the University of Iowa, where he honed his creative skills and fell in love with Grace Steuart. They married in 1976 and briefly lived in Evanston, but soon returned to Iowa City. From there, in 1980, they embarked on a white-knuckle dead-of-winter drive in their Volkswagen camper van, destination Tacoma, Washington. They eventually settled in Bremerton, where Jim established his first neon arts studio and Grace worked for the US Navy at Submarine Base Bangor.
A savvy self-promoter, he assumed the moniker “Jimmy Neon” and in 1984 founded the Jimmy Neon Company, which produced commercial sign art and offered instruction in glass bending. His work was featured on local public television and in the local press, and he regularly collaborated with local schools, leading workshops that inspired young artists to explore neon as a medium. On weekends he and Grace would take the Bremerton Ferry to Seattle and explore the antique stores on Pioneer Square, furnishing their new domicile, a log cabin on two acres in Kingston, with their latest finds. That cabin, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, served as both a sanctuary and a studio where he crafted his neon works. He said of his life at that time: “Living near the water in the Pacific Northwest, I have a boat, an old RV, and a dog named Lucy. I live in a 65-year-old log cabin. I think I have it all.”
After Jim and Grace divorced in 1988, Jim found an audience as a traveling guest speaker, his subject being the art and science of glass bending. He remained in high demand for his neon art, which he continued to produce in his studio. His work can still be seen, among many other places, at the My Girl Drive-In Museum in Kingston. There you will find the voluptuous electric carhop of his imagination, tray in hand, skating your way. https://www.kitsapdailynews.com/news/ talkin-bout-my-girl-drive-in-museum-in-kingston/
Jim is survived by his sister, Margaret (Meg) Kinzer and her sons James and Charles Kinzer. He remained good friends with his former wife Grace throughout his remaining years. His caregiver, Rose Chilcutt, provided unwavering support for more than a decade during his illness.
Jim’s memory endures in the glowing works he created and the lives he touched.
