In Memory
Elizabeth Morrow
1957 ~ Januay 24, 2026
Elizabeth Morrow of Niwot, CO died Saturday, January 24 in her home after a long battle with cancer. She died with her husband Jim Ringel beside her, and is grieved by her son Morgan Pratt of Casper, WY.
Elizabeth was born and raised in South Bend, IN, where she graduated from Riley High School in 1975. After high school she attended Indiana University – Bloomington where she studied cello with Fritz Maag. She eventually left Bloomington and moved to Europe to study with Christoph Henkel in Freiberg, Germany. After her study with Henkel, she moved to Zurich, Switzerland where she played with various musical ensembles including the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra.
After her European stint, Elizabeth returned to the United States to study with Eleanor Schoenfeld at the University of Southern California where she received a Dr. of Musical Arts in Cello Performance. This led her to being hired by the music faculty at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she met her husband, Chuck Pratt. They married and together had their son Morgan.
Upon retiring from university teaching, Elizabeth worked with dyslexic students helping them to read English. This led her to development of Note Sense, a program designed to teach young and adult musicians how to read sheet music. Note Sense used the same principles of recognizing patterns that she used as a dyslexia teacher.
Upon Chuck’s death, Elizabeth eventually moved to Niwot in August 2021 where she met her husband Jim. They married in October, 2022.
Elizabeth was an active member of Boulder’s Eon Zen Center, and in December 2025 accepted the Zen Precepts in a Jukai ceremony at Eon’s Rohatsu Retreat, where she received the Zen name Sokujo. In her Zen practice Elizabeth learned to see the world as it is, without the delusions of hope and fear. This clear-sightedness allowed Elizabeth to recognize her moment of death and embrace it without resistance. She died a short time later.
In addition to Morgan and Jim, Elizabeth is survived by her sister Diane Howard, her brothers Mike Morrow and Bruce Morrow, and her sisters-in-law Sue Pratt and Jane Pratt.
Posted online on February 10, 2026
Published in South Bend Tribune
Added 02/11/2026 0804 GMS
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