Susan Farb Morris, Houston’s Well-Connected ‘PR Fairy,’ Dies at 68

Those close to Susan Farb Morris say she never changed. In all the decades they knew her, she was always a model of generosity and compassion that those close to her aspired to emulate.

Farb Morris, 68, was a well-connected public relations professional in Houston known by her nickname “PR Fairy.” Both personally and professionally, Farb Morris has dedicated herself to promoting the arts and the work of the city’s nonprofit organizations.

A lifelong resident of Houston, Farb Morris died Friday following “a tragic and significant fall and resulting complications,” according to her family. In response to a Facebook post announcing his death, hundreds of people expressed their grief and condolences.

Farb Morris loved sprinkling his pixie dust. In other words, she found great joy in facilitating introductions between people who could work together to bring about positive change throughout the city, according to Dee Dee Dochen, a public relations professional who worked closely with Farb Morris and with whom she “really became like sisters”.

“If you meet someone who has an interesting story, learn more about them. See what you can do to connect them to something that’s important to them and can help others. Susan didn’t do this once or twice. Susan did this with every fiber of her being, every day of her life, and that is no exaggeration. This is what she lived for, with enthusiasm and pleasure,” Dochen said.

The two co-chaired the Reel Abilities Film Festival, a free arts showcase that celebrates the talents of people with disabilities, in 2018, the same year Farb Morris was named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women. Farb Morris was a board member of the Joan and Stanford Alexander Jewish Family Service, a social services agency, and chair of the IMpowered Women’s Initiative within Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, a partnership group for women, among other community commitments.

A few years ago, for his mother’s 95th birthday, Farb Morris organized a volunteer event to help feed 95 families in need through Second Servings of Houston, a food rescue nonprofit where she had volunteered.

In his daily life, Farb Morris strove to live the values ​​of tikkun olama saying in Judaism that means “help repair the world,” said her husband, David Morris.

“This essentially means that we have an obligation to leave the world a better place and to strive to improve it. That was Susan’s mantra: wanting to make things better, one person, one step, one action at a time,” Morris said.

Farb Morris’ public relations clients were often arts organizations or nonprofits, said Sara Speer Selber, a consultant to nonprofits who has known Farb Morris since she was a child. Farb Morris was a fixture at events in Houston as she worked with many bands; Over the past three weeks, Speer Selber said he has met Farb Morris on five different shows.

“His closest friends feel like they’ve lost a limb. This woman is one of those women who is not replaceable. It’s a common thread: ‘I can’t imagine walking into a room without Susan being there,'” Speer Selber said.

Farb Morris’ philanthropic spirit came from his parents, who founded the Aubrey and Sylvia Farb Community Service Fund at Congregation Emanu El to support small, emerging organizations that improve the lives of underserved Houstonians, those close to him said. The fund went to the AIDS Foundation in the 1990s when few others would have done so, Speer Selber said.

That upbringing instilled in Farb Morris a deep dedication to improving Houston, said Jodi Bernstein, who met her 40 years ago when they were both involved in the Anti-Defamation League.

“It was a defining element of his work. She wanted to make sure the community was informed about their needs and how they can help each other,” Bernstein said.

Farb Morris was the Texas Music Festival’s first public relations consultant, a role she held for 10 years before stepping down to spend more time with her grandchildren, said Alan Austin, the festival’s executive and artistic director .

“It made a world of difference. All of a sudden, Houston sat up and noticed what we had done in a way she had never seen before. Part of it was because she knew almost everyone in town, and if she didn’t know them, she would make it a point to meet them,” Austin said.

She mentored many of the organization’s public relations and marketing interns, with whom she remained in touch and gave career advice years later, he said.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had someone around me who passed away and it affected so many people,” Austin said. “She leaves behind a huge legacy, but it’s not in concrete and buildings and things that we usually think of, but it touched so many lives in so many different ways.”

The Texas Music Festival dedicates Saturday’s concert featuring conductor Hans Graf to Farb Morris. It starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Moores Opera House.

Services will be held Monday at 1 p.m. at Congregation Emanu El Barish Shrine with burial following at Emanu El Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, Farb Morris’ family asked people to consider donating to organizations that mean a lot to her: Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, Alexander Jewish Family Service, Second Servings of Houston and the Aubrey & Sylvia Farb Community Service Fund of Congregation Emanu El.

Farb Morris is survived by her husband, David Morris; his daughters, Hannah and Shara Morris; his mother, Sylvia Farb, and his three grandchildren.