Obituaries
Edward F. Morgan, 86, Nov. 3, 1924 - March 15, 2011
Funeral today for Wheaton resident who served in the Marines and received Wheaton Academy's first Leadership Circle Award.
Edward F. Morgan, age 86, a resident of Wheaton, died March 15, 2011, at the DuPage Convalescent Center in Wheaton.
Born Nov. 3, 1924 in Lyons, Ill., Ed grew up in Lyons and entered the US Marine Corps after he graduated from Morton High School in 1943. As a Marine, he served as tank battalion corporal in the Pacific Theater. During deployment in Saipan, Marianas Islands, in 1945, he saved the lives of four Marines who were caught in an undertow, swept out to sea and drowning. The US Marine Corps awarded him the Navy and Marine Corps medal for heroism involving voluntary risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy.
After the war, he graduated from Bradley University. He then went to work in sales for what was to become the multi-billion dollar corporation ServiceMaster, then based in Chicago. During the next 35 years, he served as a leader, executive and board member for ServiceMaster, now based in Memphis. He was a leader in launching the company’s overseas operations in Canada, Europe and Japan.
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He was active in many educational, religious and health care groups. He served as a community leader from the early days of the Central DuPage Hospital Association in Winfield and was on the Board of Governors for many years, receiving the Board of Governors award in the late 1970s. He was instrumental in the growth and development of the Wheaton Christian High School in West Chicago (Wheaton Academy); and the Wheaton Christian Grammar School in Winfield. He served as board chair at both schools. In 2010, Wheaton Academy gave him the school’s first Leadership Circle Award.
He was a long-standing member of College Church in Wheaton, where he served in many ways, including as deacon, elder and Sunday school teacher, and also with the Christian Service Brigade program.
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He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sally; his seven children, Michael C. (Leslie) Morgan of Wheaton, Elizabeth (Perry) Jones of Duluth, Ga., Timothy (Senja) Morgan of Wheaton, Marianne (Chris Peterson) Morgan of Castle Rock, Colo., Daniel (Evonne) Morgan of Plantation, Fla., Jonathan (Karen) Morgan of Charlotte, NC, and Eric (Afarin) Morgan of Winfield; 15 grandchildren, Joshua (Lizbeth) and Jessica (Bihm), Fiona, Mathias and Jaffrey, Nathaniel, Jonathan, Lauren, Stephanie, Samuel and Gabriel, and Jesse Short, Amelia, Elaine and Cole; five great-grandchildren, Marcus, Liam, Joseph, Milena, and Caleb; two sisters, Lillian Keck, and Marilyn Morgan; one brother, James Morgan; and five nieces and nephews, David and Melissa, and Kathleen, Jenny and Peter.
A visitation was held on Sunday, March 20, at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., in Wheaton. A funeral service will be held on Monday, March 21, at 11 a.m. at College Church in Wheaton, 332 E. Seminary Ave, in Wheaton. Interment will be private at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill.
In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be directed to Wheaton Academy, Attn: Director of Development, 900 Prince Crossing Road, West Chicago, IL 60185.
