Mary Thiesen Reynolds was born on March 3, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of James Erasmus Reynolds, Jr. and Mary Traylor Thiesen. Howard Jackson Morrison, Jr. was born in Savannah on May 14, 1943, the eldest son of Dr. Howard J. Morrison and Mary Lane Morrison.
Mary attended Marjorie Webster Junior College and the University of Georgia. She worked at Atlantic Steel Company and the C&S Bank for the first female Vice President, Evelyn Worley. Howard attended Massie School, The Pape School, graduated from the Choate School in 1961, and from Yale University in 1965. He served three years on active duty in the United States Navy, retiring in 1969 as a Lieutenant.
Mrs. Worley introduced Mary to Howard after Mrs. Worley’s retirement and move to Savannah to work at the Ships of the Sea Museum in 1969. Mary and Howard were married on March 14, 1970, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta, where Mary was baptized and where her grandmother laid the cornerstone for the Church.
Mary was a founding member of the Atlanta Botanical Garden, where she served on the Board, and was the second Chair of the Atlanta Flower Show in 1990. Mary has been a member of the Atlanta Junior League for 57+ years. She was on the Board of the Atlanta Speech School and Guild President. She was also President of the Cherokee Garden Club and became an Artistic Judge through the Garden Club of America. Mary was the first non-Savannah resident to become President of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia and was placed on the Roll of Honor in 1996.
Moving to Savannah in 1997, Mary served on the boards of the Telfair Museum, Savannah Music Festival, Savannah Children’s Choir, where she received the One Small Voice Award, the Savannah Technical College Foundation, and Assisted Working Women in Need, where she received the Top Ten Award for Working Women of the Year. She and Howard also received the Morrison Award from Loop It Up Savannah, given in their name each year. Mary serves on the THA Concierge Care Board.
After marrying Mary, Howard moved to Atlanta in 1970 to work with C & S Bank, which was founded by his grandfather, Mills B. Lane. Howard’s banking career spanned nearly 30 years, including being the Chief Financial Officer of the Citizens and Southern Realty Investors and helping to develop C & S Bank’s High Technology Group (now part of Bank of America). Howard was the founding president of the Business & Technology Alliance in Atlanta, now the centerpiece of the Technology Association of Georgia.
When he retired from banking in 1996, Howard returned to Savannah, where he was instrumental in establishing the Coastal Business, Education & Technology Alliance (now the Creative Coast) and initiating and developing the Georgia Tech Savannah campus, where he was founding Advisory Board Chair. Howard served on, chaired, and was actively involved with many educational and charitable boards throughout his life, including the Georgia Historical Society, the Georgia Humanities Council, the Georgia Conservancy, the Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation, the Skidaway Island Marine Sciences Foundation, Georgia Southern University’s Allen E. Paulsen College of Science and Technology, the United Way of the Coastal Empire, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, and the Downtown Rotary Club, Savannah. Howard also served on the boards of numerous technology companies in Atlanta and Savannah and was instrumental in the founding of businesses and nonprofits throughout the state. He also received numerous awards and recognitions, including the John Macpherson Berrien Award for Lifetime Achievement in Georgia History from the Georgia Historical Society, Leader of the Decade by the Business & Technology Alliance, and induction into the Georgia High Technology Hall of Fame and the Savannah Business Hall of Fame.
Mary spent over two years with Howard restoring Lebanon Plantation where they enjoyed entertaining guest from around the world and locally. They have two children, Howard Jackson Morrison III, and Mary Thiesen Morrison Moore, and six grandchildren, Emma, Jim Reynolds, and Grace Morrison, and Andrew, Jackson, and Hamilton Moore.
Howard suffered a stroke on March 14, 2017, their 47th wedding anniversary. He died on January 24, 2019, age 75. The Mary Reynolds and Howard Jackson Morrison, Jr. Fund was established in 2022, ensuring that their commitment to Georgia history will continue in perpetuity.