Dr. Morriss grew up in Headland, Alabama, and is the son of Dr. J. E. Morriss, Jr., one of the first physicians on staff at the Southeast Alabama Medical Center. Dr. Morriss, III joined Southern Clinic in 1985 after completing his undergraduate studies in Microbiology at the University of Alabama in 1976 and his Masters in Microbiology in 1978. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine from Tulane Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1982. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1985.
He is a member of the American Medical Association and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He is the past president of the Houston County Medical Society as well as the former Chief of Staff at Southeast Alabama Medical Center. He is the current president of the medical staff at HealthSouth in Dothan, Alabama, and is the medical director for Extendicare Health and Rehab and Wesley Manor Nursing Home. He is married to his wife Mary, of 39 years, and they have three daughters: Amy, Kathryn, and Sarah.
Dr. Morriss was awarded the Doctors of Excellence in 2014.