The Eastern Iowa racing scene lost one of its greats from the good ol’ days late in January when Mel Morris passed away after a lengthy period of illness.

Mel raced jalopy and late-model stock cars from the early 1950s to the early 1980s. He was a regular at West Liberty Raceway and Columbus Junction Raceway and had raced at tracks in Eldon, Oskaloosa, Des Moines, Knoxville and Donnellson. One year, he won all three features at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

Mel was particularly tied to my racing roots, as he was the driver of the jalopy owned by my grandpa, Milton Rockwell. The blue and white polka-dotted No. 39 was a staple of the Mississippi Valley Stock Car Association circuit. Mel later piloted Bud Kile’s No. 32, and several other cars in his career.

In more recent years, Mel enjoyed a yearly trip to Knoxville Raceway to attend the Late Model Nationals and watch from one of the suites above the frontstretch with a group of the old-timers. One year, Mel and I found ourselves on the elevator together after the races and struck up a conversation. Knoxville Track Manager Ralph Capitani turned to me and said, “You’re too young to remember Mel.” I laughed and told him how Mel used to drive Grandpa Rocky’s car. The next year, the finale was won by Tim McCreadie. Following that race, Mel came to find me in the pressbox as I was writing up the story. He said, “I knew McCreadie would win because his number is 39.” Ironically, I had chosen him in our unofficial pressbox pool that night largely because of my family ties to the No. 39. Each time I saw Mel at Knoxville it felt as if Grandpa Rocky was there watching over our meetings. I’ll definitely miss that.

Mel was born June 6, 1934, in Stockport, the son of Harold and Edna VanPatten Morris. In addition to racing, he enjoyed hunting deer and turkey, fishing, trail riding and playing Texas Hold Em on Tuesday nights.

He died on January 28, 2010, in Yuma, Arizona. A celebration of life is planned for a later date.

He is survived by his wife, Linda; two daughters, Linda Cook of Kirksville, Missouri, and Jolleen Morris (Jeff Praught) of Bennett; two sons, Rick Morris of Farmington and Jim Morris of West Liberty; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a brother, Glen Morris, of Palo; a stepdaughter, Stacy Meyers (Jamie Kirk) of Nichols; a stepson, Jim Meyers, and his wife, Beth, of El Dorado Springs, Missouri; and a step-grandson.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister in infancy.