Ted Morgan

Ted Morgan, 91, died June 2, 2012, at home in Corvallis. Ted was born in rural Franklin County, near Sesser, in southern Illinois. He was the third of four sons of Chancy and Myrtle Morgan; the others are Dwight and Chancey, both now deceased, and Paul of Jupiter, Fla. He graduated from Goode-Barren Township High School in Sesser, where he met Juanita Teel, whom he married on May 31, 1942, at her parents’ home. Juanita died on March 5, 2010. Ted began his college education at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and, in 1941, his long career in public education at Ebenezer, a two-room school near DuQuoin. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific with the 88th Signal Battalion as a radio operator, with the rank of technical sergeant — mostly in the Solomon Islands, later in the occupation of Japan. After the war, Ted and Juanita completed college at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where Ted eventually earned an Advanced Certificate of Public School Administration. He taught and served as administrator in several small Illinois towns, including Hammond and Alvin in the early 1950s; Sesser in the late 1950s; Eureka in the early 1960s; and Morris from 1963 to 1977, where he was principal. Then he was assistant superintendent at Morris Community High School. In Morris, he and Juanita were members of First Baptist Church. In retirement, Ted and Juanita moved to Desert Shadows, a trailer-park/retirement community in Phoenix, Ariz., where they enjoyed golfing, dancing and other hobbies, as well as frequent visits from their children and grandchildren. During these years, the couple traveled extensively in Europe, the Caribbean, South America and the South Pacific. They also owned a small Cessna and a motor home, in which they logged thousands of miles visiting friends and family, and seeing the country. Ted liked to brag that they’d visited every state “except Delaware,” which he once glimpsed from New Jersey — often followed by puns, his characteristic humor, on the states’ names. In 2006, Ted and Juanita moved to Corvallis, residing at Stoneybrook Assisted Living, where they made many new friends. In addition to his brother, Paul, Ted is survived by his children, Bruce (Beth) Morgan of Champaign, Barry (Lara) Morgan of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Brenda (John) Lillstrom of Deerbrook, Wis., and Barbara (Kent) Schnake of Philomath; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. The family is planning a memorial gathering and interment of ashes for both Ted and Juanita at 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser. Questions and condolences can be addressed to Brayfield Funeral Home in Sesser, or emailed to Barbara Schnake at bjoschnake@gmail.com.

Tributes

Ted Morgan

May 22, 1921 - June 2, 2012