Dee Morrison, 2025 Los Alamos Living Treasure/Photo by Jim O’Donnell

BY CRAIG MARTIN

Dee Morrison and her easy smile have been a cornerstone of Girl Scouting in Los Alamos since she arrived in 1983. In those years, she held nearly every possible leadership role at the local and regional levels, and she has garnered just as many leadership awards to honor her tireless service to scouting. But the countless girls and adults she mentored remember her most with her guitar, singing Girl Scout songs around a campfire.

Dee grew up in the mountains of Idaho. Her parents met in Australia where her father was stationed during World War Two. Her first Girl Scout experience was at the age of eight when she joined the local troop. Her parents served on the camping committee and Dee attended Girl Scout summer camp every year. There she learned outdoor skills, enhanced by camping trips with her family. In winter the family skied. It was an outdoor life.

Dee never thought much about the guitar. “Guitars were in Country and Western music and rock and roll, and I didn’t care much for either,” she said. But at the age of 16, at camp, another Girl Scout knew every folk song possible and showed Dee the versatility of the instrument and the broad range of singalong songs. “I was hooked and learned to play on a terrible used guitar until my grandparents brought me back a new one from Japan.” She still plays that guitar.

Dee, along with her late husband Bob and their three children Jeni, Tim, and Tyler, moved to Los Alamos in 1982. She looked around and said, “A great town, it has quaking aspens on the hills and our door is 15 minutes from the ski lift.” Within weeks Dee attended the local Brownie Roundup and volunteered to lead her daughter’s troop. “And by the way, do you need a trainer for outdoor skills and do you need a song leader?” Los Alamos Girl Scouting could never have imagined what a life-long leader they had just discovered.

For Girl Scouts in Northern New Mexico, Dee serves the role of “Music Consultant.” She has a song for all occasions and all topics. Dee’s music became an integral part of troop meetings, leadership training, summer camps, Twilight Camps, and Council meetings. Dee not only leads singing, but she teaches girls and adults how to lead in singing and teaching the songs to others. By attending the annual National SongShare, she learns new songs to share with the local Scouting groups. Dee and her Girl Scout granddaughter Taylor even wrote a song “Let’s Have Some More S’mores” to recognize the importance of that marshmallow treat at Twilight Camp.

But it wasn’t just about the songs. Dee has taught thousands of girls and adult leaders how to be safe and to have fun in the outdoors, not only in summer but in winter. In 1994, Dee and several other leaders created a winter outdoor program, Winterfest, at Camp Elliot Barker. The program introduced middle and high school girls how to cross-country ski, snowshoe, build a fire in snow, and how to have fun on a sled. This empowering event continues today.

With her deep commitment to Girl Scouting, Dee has held local and regional leadership positions in many aspects of the scouting organization. In recognition of her willingness and skills in leadership, she has been the recipient of a long list of scouting awards, including the Thanks Badge, a national award that is the highest honor given to an adult whose exceptional service has impacted an entire Girl Scout Council.

But adults need to have fun, too. In 1987, Dee and several other Girl Scout leaders decided to form something like an adult troop to have their own adventures in the outdoors. Calling themselves WOW, Women on Wheeler, the group planned a backpack trip from Camp Elliot Barker to the summit of Wheeler Peak. Dee taught them all how to backpack. They had so much fun they planned a trip or two—biking in Europe, skiing to yurts, canoeing in the Boundary Waters—most every year for the next three decades. They expanded the group to include any female over 18 who was willing but not necessarily able to carry her own backpack. This led to the group’s motto, “It’s a guilt-free trip,” demonstrating the support the women gave to each other. Dee empowered all the participants by teaching them not only outdoor skills but gave them the confidence to be in charge of a group.

Her own interest in Los Alamos history led Dee to the nascent docent program of the Los Alamos Historical Society. There she helped establish guided tours in the historic district and soon began to tote suitcases of artifacts to local classrooms. The suitcase program “took the museum into the classroom”, the cases filled with relics pertaining to various eras of local history to teach fourth graders in their New Mexico history classes. A former fellow docent and now fellow Living Treasure inductee, Georgia Strickfaden, said, “I never told Dee how much she influenced my growth as a guide and teller of the Los Alamos story, but she did!”

Outside of scouting and history education, Dee has been a ski instructor at Pajarito Mountain and continues to ski there every winter. To expand her musical horizons, Dee learned how to play percussion so she could participate in the Los Alamos Community Winds, gradually working up the percussion ranks from triangle to tympani. Recently, Dee’s heart for service has led her to assist with serving lunches at the Senior Center. Diners know her for going out of her way to assist those who need a little extra help.  

Her infectious enthusiasm helps others believe that they, too, can make a difference. “The jobs of volunteers are just as important to a community as the work people get paid to do,” Dee believes. “And besides, helping other people is just plain fun.”