SUMMERDALE, Alabama — Eugene Morris, known as “The Spear Chunker,” wanted to leave behind a lasting legacy for generations to come.

Morris, a native of Memphis, Tenn., was a resident of the Josephine area of Baldwin County since 1992. During his lifetime he was known as “The Greatest Living Spear Hunter in the World,” having bagged nearly 600 big game animals since taking up the sport at age 40.

On Saturday, Nov. 28, Morris died doing what he loved, sitting in a tree stand on private property in Elberta, spear in hand. He was 78 years old.

A graduate of what is now the University of Memphis, Morris retired to Hilo, Hawaii, after a 22-year career in the Air Force. Morris spent eight years conducting guided bow hunting tours on the Island before moving back to the mainland and eventually to Baldwin County 19 years ago.

Morris’s lifelong passion for hunting began at the age of 14 when he began hunting with a shotgun before graduating to bow and arrow. He speared his first deer on his 40th birthday in 1973 and recorded a total of 592 kills with a spear from that point forward, everything from large game animals such as bears and big cats such as cougars and a lion down to smaller animals such as sheep and goats. Morris also bagged several gators, various types of deer and other prey animals, all with a spear.

In 1992, Morris moved with his wife Heather Jean to Baldwin County, building a home on 20 acres in the Josephine community.

Morris hunted the world over, including several safari trips to Africa and Argentina. Many of his excursions in the United States were in Florida and Texas where hunting with a spear has been allowed for many years.

Many of his trophies were acquired using a spear he designed himself dubbed “Black Death” which was developed with a local master welder. The metal spear utilizes four blades, two 23-inch blades and two, 16-inch blades. The blades are secured to metal poles which are put together using couplers and can be broken down into four-foot sections for travel.

When put together the spears range from 15 to 22 feet in length and are designed to be anchored by a cord from a tree stand. A release mechanism allows the hunter to take the spear in hand and throw straight down into his or her target recording a kill.

Morris also developed a system for throwing two spears, bagging two animals at one time, a fete which he accomplished more than 40 times.

In 1995, Morris lobbied to have hunting with a spear made legal in the state of Alabama. Spear hunting season now follows the same dates as bow hunting season in Alabama.

He has written two books on the subject, “Hunting With Spears,” published in 2003, and “The Greatest Living Spear Hunter in the World,” published in 2010. He had just finished a third book, which had yet to be published at the time of his death, and has also produced three DVDs on the subject.

While Morris and his wife split after 10 years of marriage, they continued to share a passion for hunting with Heather Morris’s current tally standing at 78.

With her help and the help of girlfriend and fellow student Sharon Henson, who has herself recorded 32 kills with a spear, Morris realized his dream of sharing his lifelong passion in 2006, creating the Spear Hunting Museum on Highway 59 in Summerdale.

“This museum has become my total life and obsession,” Morris wrote in his last will and testament, which was updated for the last time in April of 2010. “The museum contains all my spear hunting animal trophies, spears, artifacts and other spear hunting mementos that were acquired in my world-wide travels while spear hunting.”

The will stipulates that upon his death, Larry Wilson, who was named executor of Morris’s estate, establish The Spear Hunting Museum Trust Fund. The will also stipulates that all of Morris’s holdings be sold so that the museum can be operated in “perpetuity,” with Heather Morris as the museum’s curator.

The museum, which bears his likeness and title on the building, is now open most weekdays with plans to expand the museum’s hours in January, Heather Morris said. The will also stipulates Morris’s title be changed to “Gene Morris: The Greatest Spear Hunter In Recorded History.”

Henson, who now lives in Texas, also has served as the museum’s curator, called Morris a “good friend and my mentor in spear hunting.”

“Gene was not only my friend and hunting mentor, he was an avid supporter for hunting, regardless of weapons used,” Henson said in a faxed statement. “He of course, preferred the challenge of an up close encounter with spears and he was good at it…. He will be missed.”

For more information about the museum, contact Heather Morris at 251-989-7700.