| 3.20.2003
Jason R. Morton, 38 devoted father and friend
Jason R. Morton, 38, a lifelong West Greenwich resident, was 6 feet tall,
weighed 200 pounds and proudly worked as a laborer for 20 years.
But the same man who loved to pull the helmet off his head when he drove
his Harley-Davidson across the Connecticut line also allowed his two daughters
to paint his toenails with permanent markers, stick his hair up in plastic
clips and snap plastic earrings from a Potato-Head doll on his ears.
"He was a wonderful father who cherished his children, his parents,
his family and friends," said his wife, Marie G. (Pellicio) Morton,
as she sat in the home her husband had helped to build.
After daughters Ashley, 16, and Kaitlin, 12, were born, the couple staggered
their work schedules, so one of them would always be home.
They nicknamed Ashley "Apples" because she smelled so good,
and Jason's best friend, Tom Barnett, nicknamed Kaitlin "Oranges"
because the two were so different, but equally sweet as babies.
Jason worked as a fireproof-batch mixer for Century Drywall in Providence,
and before that at H. Carr & Sons. He also worked as a shellfisherman,
owned the former Morton Land Clearing and Tree Service and was a member
of the Massachusetts Laborers Union Local 223. He'd get up as early as
4 some mornings, while Marie worked the night shift as a custodian at
Exeter-West Greenwich schools.
Three years ago, the couple talked about buying the girls a go-cart or
a computer.
Jason, recalling what fun he had racing dirt bikes as a kid, bought the
go-cart and delighted in clearing a four-feet-wide path around the house
that the girls could drive on.
When the go-cart broke down, Jason felt so badly the repairs took longer
than expected that he raced out and bought the girls the computer, too.
The marriage had hit hard times recently, and Jason moved across the
road to a relative's house a few months ago.
The girls slept over the Wednesday of school vacation week and spent
Thursday with their dad, browsing in the Dollar Store and grabbing lunch
at D'Angelo's in Coventry.
Tom Barnett
had visited that day, as usual, and the lifelong friends decided to go
to The Station, a favorite hang-out, because they had free tickets to
that night's show.
The Mortons and the Barnetts say they've heard reports that Jason and
Tom were by the front door when the fire started, but stayed to pass people
out through windows.
"They were both so strong and dependable," Marie said. "They
truly died as heroes. They never thought of themselves or the people they
left behind, because they never thought they'd be leaving anyone behind."
-- Jennifer D. Jordan
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