"Sonny" Manuel Malcolm Morton, 80, was born to proud parents, Manuel and Hazel (McMurrain)

Morton, on December 30, 1942 at Warner Brown Hospital in El Dorado. He passed away Friday, June 2,

2023 at Silver Oaks Health & Rehabilitation.  His maternal family lived in the Quinn community, just north of El Dorado. They founded The Kozy

Kitchen restaurant and came together to make it a success. This provided the basis of his lifelong

appreciation for nature and the security of returning to loved ones on the homestead. His family moved

many times, after Manuel got back from WWII, from Arkansas to Alaska. Sonny met the love of his life

soon after coming to Littleton, Colorado. A long-distance relationship began when Sonny hitchhiked

back to El Dorado, just in time to graduate at EHS. He married Patricia Lynne Beyer in 1961, after eloping

to Mexico.  The newlyweds settled in Little Rock, where he worked for the Fuller Brush Company. Upon returning to

El Dorado, Patricia and Sonny opened The Flower Shoppe at 315 N. West Ave. They worked tirelessly,

building the business by delivering for Ragsdale Pharmacy, housing the Western Union office, and

adding a bridal shop. Sonny made gorgeous Christmas trees covered in preserved snow flocking and

sprinkled with glitter. Some of his bravest moments were serving as a firefighter for the City of El

Dorado. He and his brother-in-law, Frank Pope, also taught martial arts at their Karate Studio on E.

Cedar.  Sonny came back many times over the years to help Patricia and the girls at the shop, reopened as La Pegasus Florist and Gifts.  He loved being creative, going fishing, telling adventurous stories, and cheering for the

Razorbacks.  Sonny was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother, Donald.  Those left to cherish

Sonny's memory include Patricia, his daughters: Rosalee Morton Meeks and Johnye Ross (Jason) Gober, siblings: Rozanne (Frank) Pope, "Patti" Patricia (Glenn) Weber, and Michael

Morton, grandchildren: Christina Meeks, Stephen (Heather) Meeks, Lauren Casey Meeks, Bayley Gober, and Brooke (Grant) Fletcher, great-

grandchildren: Noah Darnall, "Mia" Midori Meeks, Sye Meeks, Bristol Meeks, and Avalon Meeks, extended family, special companion, Carol Krell,

and a lifetime of friends. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at Perry's Funeral Chapel in El Dorado, AR,

internment following at Bethel Cemetery on O'Rear Rd in El Dorado, AR.  A time of visitation will be held from 10:00am until time of service at the

funeral home.