An award-winning writer and academic and "wonderful father, husband, and son" died just days after private gastric sleeve surgery which was supposed to give him a new lease of life. Phillip Morris, from Newport, died at the age of 48 leaving his wife Dana and young son Orson bereft.
Phillip was due to embark on a PhD literary programme at the University of East Anglia – one of the best writing courses in the world – in February 2022. But he never recovered from his operation at St Anthony’s Hospital in Surrey on December 6, 2021, and he died four days later.
Dana – who Phillip met when the two of them were still teens at Camp America – said some of his last words to her were: "You’ve got the project right hon?" He was referring to the project he worked on right up until he went in for surgery, editing Home to You: Celebrating 10 Years of Wales Arts Review. It was almost ready for print, said Dana sadly.
