Geary Morrill 9/26/77-1/19/21
Geary was a magical human being. Absolutely full of life, care, and love for all living creatures. He lived with intention, striving to infuse fun and positivity into everything he did. It was evident in the colorful artwork he made over his 22 year career in tattooing, in his friendly interactions with every person he encountered, and most importantly, in his devotion to his kids. Geary planned his entire life around his daughters, reducing his work schedule to spend as much time with them as possible. He was the dad who chaperoned every field trip, surprised the kids at school for lunch, and spent hours teaching them, listening to them, and helping them discover their own dreams.
Geary was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer in January 2020, at the age of 42. He was determined to face this adversity head-on, just as he had faced many other adversities in his life. He took it on with unwavering determination, even as a global pandemic made everything so much harder. Geary would wake up at 5 am to drive himself an hour to a long day of chemo infusions, then come home wearing a 48-hour chemo pump that he would disconnect himself. He endured side effects that took away his ability to do any of the things that he loved. He continued to work until peripheral neuropathy took away his ability to tattoo. At the beginning of the pandemic, he co-founded a nonprofit that educates body artists on how to safely return to work. He was not afraid to do hard things. His only fear was leaving his family. Unfortunately, all of our fears became a reality when he passed away January 19, 2021.
We know that things could have been much different for us if we had known more about colorectal cancer in the ten or more years that he was sick, prior to diagnosis. It is my hope now that we can work to improve screening and education about CRC.
In lieu of flowers, please consider giving to PALTOWN, an organization that helped us tremendously during this journey. I spent many, many hours speaking with others in COLONTOWN, PALTOWN’s online community of empowered patients, caregivers, doctors and scientists. Through COLONTOWN, we learned about cutting edge treatments, how to manage chemo side effects, how to navigate the world of clinical trials, and found a wealth of support and camaraderie. Your donation will help patients and caregivers like us. Thank you for giving.
