Ralph H. Morgan – Oct. 30, 2015
Ralph H. Morgan, 81, husband of the Rev. Dr. Laura Lee C Morgan, retired Elder, died Oct. 30, 2015. A service celebrating his life was held Nov. 3 at the 200-year-old Gettysburg (Pa.) UMC with his pastor, the Rev. Jay Zimmerman, and his brother-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Joel W. Cocklin, officiating.
Ralph Hodges Morgan was born Feb 9, 1934, in West Baltimore, the son of the late Garner E. and Mary M. Clark Morgan. He was a 1952 graduate of Edison High School and held an AA degree from Catonsville Community College. He held a BA degree from Loyola College in Baltimore. Later he attended Northwestern University and the University of Louisville. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean Conflict and was a lieutenant at the time of his discharge. He received a Meritorious Mast for outstanding performance of duty.
He and the Rev. Laura Lee married in 2007, while she served Mt. Olive UMC in Randallstown (2005-2009). She served there until her retirement in August 2009. Prior to that, she was executive director of the Wesley Foundation at the University of Delaware for 14 years and served the Flohrville-Gaither Charge in 1985 and the Shiloh-Dover Charge from 1986-1991.
Morgan had been a member of Mt. Olive UMC in Randallstown for 46 years prior to joining Gettysburg UMC in 2009 after his wife’s retirement. He served on the Board of Trustees for 30 years.
He was a member of the Baltimore City Police Dept. for a year before joining the Maryland State Police in 1959, as a traffic and criminal investigator. After an assignment to the Maryland Port Police Dept. at the Port of Baltimore, he returned to the Investigation Division as 1st Lt., retiring in 1982. He received the Governor’s Citation for a rescue operation during Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. Morgan was president of the American Society for Industrial Security and was certified as a Protection Professional.
From 1982 – 2005 he was in the gasoline service station business in Arbutus, Baltimore and Hampstead with his daughter, Diane Phillips. With son David, he operated an Exxon station in Timonium. In 2009 Ralph was named to the Gasoline Dealers Hall of Fame by the Washington Maryland Delaware Service Station and Automotive Repair Association.
He was predeceased by his wife of 46 years, Pearl D. Morgan.
Survivors include his wife, Rev. Laura Lee Morgan of Littlestown, Pa.; his son David L. Morgan of Woodbine; daughter, Diane M. Phillips of Manchester; step-daughters Shari Miley of Woodsboro, Pa., and Becki Enders of Halifax, Pa.; two granddaughters, four grandsons, three great grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren.
Condolences may be sent to Laura Lee Morgan, 2 Stedtle Ave., Littlestown, PA 17340-1164.
Memorial contributions may be made to Gettysburg UMC, 30 West High Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325 or to Mt. Olive Cemetery, Mt. Olive UMC, 5111 Old Court Rd., Randallstown, MD 21136.