Gene Slack Morse, 90: Was matriarch of the Woodlands estate in Decatur
Gene and Chester Morse loved their seven-acre oasis in Decatur so much they couldn't bear to see it displaced by suburbia.
In 2002, the couple donated the property, located near the intersection of Scott Boulevard and Clairmont Avenue, to the city. The Morses called it the Woodlands. The Decatur Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit that preserves historic structures and green spaces, manages the site, which is to be developed into a public garden.
"The Woodlands is our largest project, actually," said Susan Cobleigh, the alliance's executive director. "It's open the last Sunday of every month, and we like to host educational groups. Several Eagle Scout projects have been completed there, and we are open by appointment."
The estate has a pavilion with a fireplace as well as two structures. One was the Morses' first home, now the alliance's office. The other is a Morse home, too, and that's where Gene Slack Morse, the 90-year-old matriarch, died Sunday. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Decatur Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Morse was born in LaGrange but had deep roots in Decatur. She was a graduate of Decatur Girls High and Agnes Scott College, where she majored in English. She worked briefly in retail when her late husband, a physician, interned in New York.
Locally, she volunteered at Decatur Presbyterian Church, was a Girl Scouts leader, and served as a trustee and president of the Agnes Scott College Alumnae Association, among other civic roles.
Recently, she'd attended an Agnes Scott luncheon in which Tom Key, executive artistic director of the Theatrical Outfit, was keynote speaker. She told him she'd seen his performance decades ago in "Cotton Patch Gospel."‘
Naturally, people marvel that a family would donate such a valuable chunk of property in a prime locale. The private estate appraised at $3 million at the time. Today it's a little bit of Eden amid the hustle and bustle of a city.
"How many people would do that when they could have sold it for who knows how much?" asked Judy Marine of Buckhead. "I think it was very significant, and very significant for the city of Decatur."
Mary Ellen M. Pendergrast, a daughter, admits selfishness had a role in the decision, too: The family didn't want to see their urban oasis, a place they loved, built beyond recognition.
"It was a natural thing for the family to do," she said. "It was the only way to keep it from being bulldozed, torn down and turned into 40 houses or something really awful. Growing up, we never realized how fortunate we were, but Mother, as a [Girl Scouts] leader, had all of us, and a lot of other kids, in the woods learning about nature and our amazing world."
Additional survivors include two more daughters, Anne M. Topple and Genia M. Duchon, both of Decatur; a son, Dr. Harold G. Morse of Anderson, S.C.; a sister, Julia S. Hunter of Atlanta; seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
