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Morrell Ray

whose passion was directing training programs in the U.S. Army and in a post-retirement career, died May 4, 2015, at Clare Bridge Place in Peoria, Arizona. He was 96. Mr. Sexton rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel during 25 years in the Army, serving in the U.S. and at multiple posts overseas. He was sent to Phoenix in 1963 as vice commander of the Army Reserve Center at 56th and Oak streets until his retirement from military service in 1966. Mr. Sexton was born on his grandfather’s farm in Page, North Dakota, on June 2, 1918, to Melvin and Florence Sexton. The family later moved to Fargo, and on the track field at Fargo High he picked up the nickname “Skeeter” because he was “as fast as a mosquito.” He set records in 1936 in the low and high hurdles that went unbroken for nearly two decades. He also lettered in basketball and football. At the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and ROTC. After graduating with a business degree in 1940, he received a reserve officer commission in the U.S. Army and was soon assigned to St. John’s, Newfoundland. There he helped to set up a U.S. military base as part of the defense strategy in the lead-up to World War II. One of his first tasks was to help map the route of the precursor to the Distant Early Warning System – called “The DEW Line.” While on leave, he stopped in Massillon, Ohio, to meet the family of his Army roommate and took his roommate’s sister Jean out on a date. It was love at first sight, and after a long-distance courtship they married Aug. 29, 1942. During WWII, Mr. Sexton served the Army in various defense assignments, including patrolling the East Coast for enemy submarines and protecting the Panama Canal. During this time he developed his specialty in training. After the war he received a Regular Army appointment under the Tomlinson Act, and the Sextons began criss-crossing the globe with their expanding family. In 1948 he was posted to Greece to serve as advisor to the Greek National Army during their civil war. He next had a brief assignment at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and went on to the Presidio in Monterey, California, to serve as director of training at the Army Language School (now the Defense Language Institute). He was posted to Korea on a training assignment in 1954 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in a combat zone. He was then transferred to Okinawa, where he was a battalion commander. In 1956 he assumed command of the ROTC program at Niagara University in Niagara Falls, N.Y. He received orders to Germany in 1959 and served as executive officer at Army training centers at Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr, and then as post commander at Hohenfels. Mr. Sexton retired from the Army in 1966. He worked briefly for Southwest Forest Industries and then was hired by the Department of Labor to set up and manage construction apprentice programs for Native American youths. After retiring once more, he and Jean built a home in Cave Creek, north of Phoenix. After 37 moves together, they moved yet again in 1981 to Sun Lakes, Ariz., and then to Peoria’s Freedom Plaza continuing care network in 1991. He was preceded in death by his only son, Jeffrey Ross Sexton, who died in 1967 during combat as a U.S. Army 173rd Airborne second lieutenant in Vietnam. When his wife, Jean, was stricken with brain cancer in 1989, he was her loving caregiver until her death in 1993, just months after their 50th wedding anniversary. His survivors include four daughters: Carol Paulk of Tempe, Arizona; Nanette Ross of Atlanta, Georgia; Christine Korbesmeyer (Roland “Korb”) of Alpharetta, Georgia; and Laurel Brunk (Patrick) of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Also surviving are 11 grandchildren: Jeff Paulk (Rina) of Chandler, Alexis Hutton (Jeff) of Costa Rica, Natalie Bandura (Brent) of Gilbert, Andrea Ross of Scottsdale, Meggen Wallace (Wiley) of Scottsdale, Britney Garcia (Marco) of Los Angeles, Rebecca Korbesmeyer of Georgia, Kristie Drury (Ross) of Georgia, Matthew Brunk (Amy), Ryan Brunk and Kyle Brunk, all of Colorado, and 7 great-grandchildren. Mr. Sexton also is survived by his second wife, Mary Pegg Ingstad Sexton, of Peoria. After a family tribute May 5 in Tempe, Mr. Sexton will be buried May 11 with military honors at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California, alongside his first wife and son. Memorial contributions may be made to any nonprofit organization that helps wounded service men and women. The family wishes to thank caregivers at Brookdale Freedom Plaza and Hospice of the Valley.