Cremation arrangements are underway for Louise Nicolena Morse, Age 85 of Mansfield, Missouri under the direction of The Clinkingbeard Funeral Home, Ava, Missouri.
Louise Nicholena Morse, 85 years, 1 month, and 1 day old, passed away on October 4, 2025, at her rustic cabin in the Missouri Ozarks.
Luise was born September 3, 1940, in Seattle, Washington, where her father was stationed in the Navy during World War II. After the war, her family returned to the Ozarks where Louise attended high school. After graduating at age 16, she married and was a mother by age 17. Despite other obligations and the lack of resources to girls her age in those times she went to college obtaining a bachelor’s degree in English and later a master’s degree in 1968. After submitting her master’s thesis in European poetry for a grant, she was awarded a trip to a study in England which began a life of travel and adventure she had dreamed of as a small child in the Ozarks. Her research led to her writing a book called ”Findings” consisting of new discoveries during the translation of French poems into English. The book was published by the Carnegie Institute which funded her trip to Europe. She learned both French and Spanish during that time. After college she taught English in high school and junior college. During the Vietnam War, Louise enlisted and served in the US Army reserve as a specialist 4.
Louise was an attractive lady and, with a combination of southern charm and her uniform, she utilized military transport to make trips literally around the world between 1968 and 1974. She commented the only place the military would not fly her was Russia so she had to buy her own ticket.
After retiring from teaching, Louise continued to study taking many correspondence courses graduating with an associate’s degree in religious education from the Family School the Bible in the languages of Greek and Hebrew. To maintain her skills in Spanish she got a 1year certificate from the Spanish Bible college and was a member of the Glad Hill Baptist Church in Mansfield, Missouri.
Louise outlived all of her siblings and was preceded in death by her brother Ralph and sisters Grace and Mary. She was also preceded in death by her partner and companion of 28 years, Bernard Charles Bush, a cousin of president George W Bush.
Louise is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Dr. James and Linda Gonzalez, and her 6 grandchildren James, Christian, Austin, Joseph, Luke and Jesse, and by her sister-in-law, Madalyn Harper, and caregiver Renee, as well as her loving cats Fluffy and Bella.
