Jacqueline "Jan" Ann Hinsley Morrison

Jacqueline “Jan” Ann Hinsley Morrison

Jan Morrison 81, local cancer and chronic illness psychotherapy pioneer in Columbus, Ohio, died peacefully February 13, 2025 surrounded by love and caring at Riverside Methodist Hospital. This followed a cardiac arrest and several years of Alzheimer’s dementia.

Jan was born June 1, 1943 in Chattanooga, TN and grew up in Wilmington, DE. She graduated from Alexis I. DuPont High School after earlier attending the Tatnall School, both in Wilmington. She went on to attend Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, VA for two years before graduating from The Ohio State University (OSU) with her bachelor’s degree.

Jan loved her work as a therapist for some 40 years, first as a licensed social worker and then licensed psychologist. Jan and her husband Randy met, married and graduated together from the OSU College of Social Work with a shared mission to help improve the lives of folks who sought their help, especially those with limited resources. First and foremost, Jan did not want to cause harm in this world. 

Jan would find her true calling, but it took a journey first. She initially worked with emotionally disturbed children at the former United Methodist Children’s Home (while she was pregnant with her daughter Laura), then with developmentally delayed children at OSU, then with clients on dialysis treatment, and then with OSU students seeking counseling. She also supported field instruction for social work grad students and directed the fledgling OSU Cancer Center Rehab Project. It was there she identified the great unmet need for cancer patients to receive coping support, that skilled support was very beneficial, and most importantly, that she was comfortable and confident in addressing that need.

That last experience gave her the gumption to start her own independent practice counseling cancer patients and their families, possibly the first such practice in Central Ohio. By herself, she successfully conducted this professional small business in exemplary fashion helping support her small family. Her focus led her to volunteer with Kids ‘n Kamp, the American Cancer Society, the Columbus Cancer Center, and the Leukemia and Parkinson’s societies. 

One of Jan’s early clients shared her desire to be with other similarly situated women, and thus, was born “Woman to Woman”, one of the first breast cancer support groups in Columbus.

Curious about everything, a true student, and highly introspective, Jan sought higher skill and medical acceptance. She invested 10 years in her own psychotherapy. As well, while continuing her private practice and nurturing her young family, Jan entered doctoral study in Counseling Education at OSU. She graduated 10 years later at age 52 after completing her dissertation, Delay in Seeking Breast Cancer Treatment, which led to her psychology licensure. As a true social worker at heart with new credentials, she joined Harding Hospital, which morphed into OSU Behavioral Health, as a staff psychologist for 20 some years.

Her skills broadened and deepened over those years to include, in addition to cancer and chronic illness counseling, marriage, bipolar, anxiety and stress-related counseling as she developed her own “Dr. Jan method” of effective therapy. A hallmark of her life-long practice was a determination to serve our least resourced or advantaged fellow humans. She was committed to being a supportive resource to underserved African American clients, in particular. She never turned away anyone in need of care, always using a sliding fee scale, and worked hard to make unfriendly insurance coverage work. She ultimately provided pro bono counseling for roughly 20% of her clients. 

She loved her work but needed to give way to tiredness and stress from long hours. She also met the demand to switch from her beautiful long hand cursive to digital documentation, despite not having typing skills. She retired from OSU at age 70 in 2013 with 25+ years of service. But she was not done, rebranding her private practice, Human Rhythms Counseling LLC and finally closing it in 2020. Sad to leave it and her professional role, she spoke even recently about going back. 

She did it her way for sure, respecting and somehow navigating, but not worshiping the insurance companies and bureaucratic rails. With incredible patience and perseverance, she found results for her clients with dignity all around. She studied professional ethics from both disciplines and took their adherence very seriously with nary a question raised. The long term hard work of her clients, their concrete life enhancing results, and deeply felt client appreciations (“I am a different person”) are testament indeed. She was especially proud of the OSU College of Social Work “Outstanding Human Services Award” she received along with her life and social work soul mate Randy. A fine career of caring and great service and innovation is in the books, or maybe just on pause.

Jan enjoyed a full life beyond career, especially raising her daughter Laura, now a palliative care physician/educator at Yale and perfecting through mutual hard work her loving marriage of 57 years with Randy. She loved to share in laughter and fun. Her ironic clever word humor persisted to the end. She was just very funny. Underpinning her life was faith in God as a life-long Methodist in Columbus at North Broadway United Methodist Church. She enjoyed cooking, reading, everything outdoors and magical travel adventures with people and cultures and spaces, natural and manmade. Always active, she enjoyed field hockey, tennis, swimming, skiing, pickle ball, walking, and dance at different times. She felt especially blessed in midlife to find enrichment with new friends through ballroom dancing. For more than 30 years, this brought together a group of diverse and plainly nice people who loved their partners and liked to have fun.

Jan was blessed with her now deceased parents Jacqueline “Jackie” Anne and Curtis “Curt” Matthew Hinsley, Sr. She deeply loved and leaves her husband Randal Charles and daughter Laura Jo Morrison; her brother Curtis “Kit” (Victoria) Matthew Hinsley, Jr., siblings-in-law Rollin (Mikel) Morrison and Lucile Lenore along with many cherished and beautiful cousins, nieces and nephews. 

A celebration of Jan’s well-lived life will be on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 2pm at North Broadway United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio. Special reception to follow. Please give in Jan’s honor to progressive non-profits – conservation and climate, women’s rights and health, international justice, minority protections, affirmative action and reparations.