Morrall siblings establish scholarship

[Be] that type of person that has your hands open. If you can do something for a person, do it and be finished with it. It’s about if you can help that person. And that’s all it is.

 Irene Morrall

The Morrall siblings, Abraham Jr. ’78, Angela ’84, Corteze ’86 and Lloyd ’85, are passing on the legacy of helping others that they learned from their parents. 

The four, all graduates of Charleston Southern, recently established The Abraham Morrall Sr. and Irene Greene Morrall Memorial Scholarship in appreciation of their parents’ dedication and motivation of placing an emphasis on obtaining a college or professional education and contributing to their childrens’ and others’ success.  

The Morralls view the scholarship as an opportunity to give back to the community where they grew up. Priority will be given to a minority student from the Burton/Beaufort area of South Carolina.  

As parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, Abraham and Irene encouraged everyone to strive for academic excellence and graduate from college. The Morralls had nine children. Because of their love and support, their children are military veterans, nurses, teachers, business leaders, public policy analysts, and government employees. 

Abraham and Irene were blue collar workers who worked hard to provide their children with opportunities to use education to elevate their lives. “My mother placed a premium on getting the best education available, and my father saw education as an opportunity to gain knowledge to acquire a job and earn an excellent living,” said Abraham Morrall Jr.  

The Morralls believed that education was important to development and personal growth leading to a productive person in society. The siblings said their parents were dedicated to the academic success of their children and grandchildren, consistently complimenting them on academic achievements. Irene especially encouraged individuals in the community to pursue higher education. She also encouraged her children’s high school classmates to pursue higher education, and they listened to her wise counsel.  

Angela Morrall ’84 said, “My parents are deceased but they provided their children with spiritual guidance. Throughout my whole life my mother has been the driving force in my life. My mother was my earthly ROCK. My mother nurtured, cooked, cleaned, washed clothes and attended to her family’s needs. My parents raised their children up in the church, to read the Bible daily and taught us to believe in God and he will get us through any storm. She taught my siblings and me at an early age that a try is just a failure. If you get knock down today, get up and go back fighting the next day. She was a very humble person that I never wanted to be because I thought it was a sign of weakness. However, several years ago when I was in Sunday School the lesson was about being a humble person. After that lesson, I could not wait to get home and apologize to my mother because being humble is a sign of humility and that’s the person God wants us to be. 

“My mother’s grandchildren call her Angel Irene because she truly demonstrated the characteristics of an Angel,” said Angela. “Her favorite chapters of the Bible are Psalm 27 and 37, and she would point you to those chapters in the Bible for encouragement while you go through your storm. My father was the one that helped out with the homework and checked the homework although my mother had an 11th grade education level. He made sure that we had the resources to complete our homework. For a man with a sixth grade education he was a very smart man. His favorite chapter in the Bible was Psalm 150. 

“My parents were big advocates for education, and they made sure that all of their children were given the opportunity to go to college. My parents taught their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren to serve others; Matthew 20:28 says “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and gave his life as a ransom for many,” said Angela. 

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