After graduating from Parsons High School in 2002, Jillian (Proctor) Fitzmorris headed to Pittsburg State University. She got into nursing school, joined a sorority, and was making friends. Everything was seemingly going according to plan.
“Long story short, my dad’s health was failing,” she said of being distracted from her studies. “I got a C in pathophysiology and that got me kicked out of nursing school.”
Her plan aborted, she moved back to Parsons to be with her mom. College was still forefront, so she enrolled at Labette Community College. There she met a handsome boy in choir, Eric Fitzmorris, and they started dating. Their mutual love of music quickly bonded the two together.
She graduated with her associates in elementary education 2005 and he with his degree in vocal music performance in 2006. Looking forward to the next step of their lives, the two decided to move to Lawrence, where Jill’s brother Jack resided in pursuit of his rock music career. Jill and Eric got jobs and eventually Jill enrolled at KU. They tied the knot in 2009.
“I ended up graduating from KU in 2010 with a bachelors in social work and 2011 with my masters in social work. I was a University of Kansas Woman of Distinction in 2010 for my volunteer work. I was sad my dad didn’t get to see that,” she said, “but my mom did and she was proud of me. Eric and I both volunteered for Best Buddies at KU. It was like Special Olympics.”
Jill worked for the Bert Nash Mental Health Center and Lawrence Public School District for about a decade. She was the Crisis Support Team Leader and the Diversity Equity Team Representative and worked in schools throughout Lawrence.
“Whenever I worked at Perry-Lecompton I was also the girl's powerlifting coach, cheerleading coach and basketball coach. Powerlifting is the one I feel proud about because there were a lot of girls who would come to me as a social worker sad about their own body image, or whatever. Instead of them sitting on a couch and me listening to them cry, I said ‘Hey, let’s go to the gym. Eventually it led me to taking them to the weight room and it led to me starting the Perry-Lecompton Girls Powerlifting Team. Their parents were so thankful. I felt so proud to have gotten them to build a healthy habit for self care.”
During that decade, she and Eric also began their family. They had their oldest daughter Brenya in 2011. She was followed by their son Ridley in 2013.
It was not long and they figured out Ridley was severely autistic. Feeling alone and scared, she and Eric founded a nonprofit called Lawrence Autism and Allies to build a community of people who could come together. They would hold monthly, special needs support groups for families as well as special events, like Sensory Santa, and 5K’s and would bring in (special guests), like music therapists. Trying to figure out what to do and where to turn for assistance was incredibly difficult as well as weaving through all the agencies’ red tape.
“Even with master’s degrees it is hard to navigate. Like in the state of Kansas there is a 10 year wait list for the IDD (Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities) waiver to get support. So, we just help other families navigate it while helping ourselves simultaneously,” she said.
Though their hands were full, their family continued to grow and they were blessed with two more little girls. Along came Cambria in 2015 and then finally their littlest, Fiona, in 2019.
Eric was a stay at home dad for several years, and then he too finished his bachelor’s and master’s in social work in 2015 and 2016, respectively. He was named a KU Man of Merit for “positively defining masculinity through challenging norms, taking action and leading by example, while making contributions to the university and/or the community.”
“Throughout the whole time, because it is a big part of our lives, Eric and I continued to play music at various nursing homes. We both volunteered, but also got paid for various things. Usually we bring the family once a month whether it is Halloween, or Christmas, or Valentines Day or Senior Prom. Giving back is important to us, and incorporating music for our kids and community,” Jill said.
As for her career in social work, as of 2023, Jill joined Gov. Laura Kelly’s Child Welfare Committee as a Senior Clinical Health Services Manager, trying to improve health care outcomes for children in foster care, and all children throughout Kansas, “which is a huge blessing,” she said.
She works from home. The job is currently quite stressful, but she said she loves it.
“It helped for me to be able to share that I was in foster care as a youth when I was 5 and 6, before my mom came over from the Philippines. It influenced me in getting into social work. I fell in love with that profession,” she said. “Thanks to my family, Eric, my mom and brother, for helping me. They are the ones who have predominantly helped me get where I am.”
Eric is now working as a social worker in Shawnee Heights Middle School and High School where Brenya goes to school.
Between work, home, extracurricular activities, taking care of Ridley, and volunteering, the family stays very busy, but Jill also still manages to find time for her photography business she started about a decade ago as a means to help them cover Ridley’s ABA therapy expenses. She does some sports photography, as well as portrait photography sessions for additional income, but also donates her time and talents for special causes.
“I do a lot of free photos for special needs families and for seniors in high school who are low income, and foster care youth,” she said.
Her photographs have earned her Best of Lawrence Photographer (third place) the last two years.
“It’s a huge honor. There are a lot of good photographers around,” she said.
One of her photographs of her daughter Brenya also just ended up on a billboard in Times Square during New York Fashion Week.
“It was so cool. Bucket list,” she said. “I was so thrilled.” 
She and Brenya got to see the billboard in person, as Jill sent in Brenya’s head shot to be model during New York Fashion week and she was accepted by Supermodels Unlimited Magazine to be in The Unlimited Show. They just had to pay for their plane tickets. Jill was determined to make it happen. She did so through scheduling extra photography sessions. She said it kind of made up for when she didn’t get to go be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2001 as a cheerleader, because she couldn’t raise enough money.
“It was kind of intense and stressful, but I’m so glad we went,” Jill said of the New York trip. “Definitely great memories with her. To see her on the billboard was magical.”
And to think, it all started in high school, taking pictures of friends and for the Parsons High School yearbook.
Thinking back to that time, Jill said she was most greatly influenced by the late Jim Kindall and his wife Ruth.
“Music helped me to have a voice, and become confident, and active in the community,” she said. Kendra Barcus, her cheerleading coach, was also a very positive influence.
“Overall I’m just thankful for my experience at PHS and getting to be in the musicals and all of the activities,” she said.
She has adopted many philosophies as she has navigated her young adult life and all its challenges. To the students at PHS today, she said, “I would encourage them, no matter where you’ve come from or who raised you, you have the ability, the power, to make choices, to make your situation different, to find your own light, a profession that feeds your soul - a job that pays the bills, but is also something you want to do, whether it be modeling, or being a nurse or a doctor. You can do anything you want in life if you are willing to work hard, be positive, and build good relationships with people and work ethic.
“Be humble, and kind, have hope, work hard, don’t give up, ask for help if you need to and take care of yourself.”