History & Staff

A native and lifelong resident of Asheville, Gus, Sr. retired in 1990 from day to day funeral home management operations. He was a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration, he is a veteran of the US Marine Corp and has been a licensed funeral director since 1962. He was formerly active in various civic organizations. He and his wife, Mary reside in Asheville. In addition to his son, Gus, Jr. he has a daughter, Lisa, four grandchildren, a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter.

Gus joined the family business in 1985 and has been a licensed funeral director for more than 30 years. He became the fourth generation at the helm of Morris Funeral Home following his father’s retirement in 1990. A native of Asheville, he graduated from Asheville High School in 1978 and was a psychology major at UNC-Asheville. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church, Asheville and active in many clubs and organizations. Gus enjoys many outdoor activities including spending time on the water, off road motorcycling and camping off the grid. He and his wife, Vicki have a special affinity for out west and spend as much time as they can in Utah, Arizona and Colorado. He is the proud father of two sons, Seth and Aaron. Seth is the fifth generation to work in the family business. Aaron was in the United States Air Force and passed away in 2012 at the young age of 25. Gus and Vicki adore time with their grandson, Abram and their granddaughter, Reynolds and reside here in Asheville with their two dogs, Hercules and Pink.

Steve grew up in western Pennsylvania. He graduated with honors from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in Communications Media. After several years of working in radio in Charlotte, NC, Steve returned to Pennsylvania to pursue a new career in funeral service. He attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, graduated with highest honors, and returned to North Carolina. Steve is licensed as a funeral director and embalmer since 2006, and is a certified crematory operator. He is also a former Secretary of the North Carolina Crematory Authority, a 7 member committee of the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service.

He has played guitar for over 35 years and performed throughout the southeast with a professional variety band.

Steve and his wife, Ruslana, enjoy the mountains and outdoor activities like hiking to the many area waterfalls with their rescue pups, Zeke and Max.

The member with the longest tenure of the Morris Funeral Home staff, Pat has been working with this family since 1968. As the caretaker of the precious antiques and furnishings at the facilities, she is responsible for keeping the building beautiful. Often, Pat will be found caring for the staff, making sure we have the TLC needed to continue to care for the families we serve. Pat was married to Gilbert Hall for over 45 years before his death in July of 2002. She and Gilbert raised five children and they have fourteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.