Joseph Joe H. Morgan

Joseph "Joe" Hawes Morgan, 87, passed away at 2:46 AM on Sunday, August 15, 2010 in his residence.

Joe was born on June 24, 1923 in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana near Melville, but was raised in East Baton Rouge Parish. He graduated from Central High School in 1940. He attended two years at Louisiana State University and then World War II began. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps in mid 1942. He was assigned basic training at Greenville, Texas where he met his first wife Dorothy Nell Wood of Commerce, Texas and married her in January, 1943. They lived happily together for 63 years before she passed away in 2006. Joe served in World War II in the Army Air Corps and the Army Transportation Corps until 1946. In the service he was a Marine Engineer and served in the Pacific Theater at New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan. He visited Hiroshima four months after the first atomic bomb was dropped there in 1945. After the war, Joe attended the University of Texas on the G.I. bill and graduated in 1950 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduation, he was employed by General Electric Company for two years as a Steam Turbine Engineer. Joe joined PPG Industries in Lake Charles in 1953. He progressed through various management positions including Maintenance Superintendent and Manager of Engineering and Maintenance Services. At his retirement he was Manager Plant Services. During his time at PPG he organized the local chapter of the International Maintenance Institute and served as President for two consecutive years. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the International Maintenance Institute's Sabine-Neches Chapter in 1976.

He was also a member of the Louisiana Engineering Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tau Beta Phi, Pi Tau Sigma, Boy Scouts of America, Lake Charles Chamber of Commerce, Transportation Committee, Red Carpet Committee, the Lake Charles Country Club, Pioneer Club, Le Bon Tempe Dance Club, Merrymates Dance Club, Tempo Dance Club, and the Knights of Columbus.

Upon retirement from PPG Industries in 1983, Joe started a 2nd career as a realtor. He worked with Flavin Realty for 10 years. His hobbies included fishing, golf, cooking, dancing, and vegetable gardening. He enjoyed sharing the vegetables that he grew with his friends and neighbors, even allowing them to come and harvest their own. Another hobby he enjoyed was fixing anything broken for his friends.

Mr. Morgan was a very spiritual person who will be remembered for his faith in the power of prayer. He was a member of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church and OLQH choir.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Dorothy Nell Morgan of 63 years and his youngest son Joseph David Morgan at age 37. Those left to cherish his memory are his present wife Barbara and her daughters Tammy Kolkebeck and Debra Rowcliff, his son Daniel Lawrence Morgan and wife Sally of San Antonio, Texas and grandchildren Daniel L. Morgan, Jr., Rebecca Trantham, Erin Kopenhauer, and his daughter Shirley Henning and husband Tom and grandchildren Katie Henning and Grant Henning, his daughter-in-law Angela Thomas Morgan and grandson Joseph D. Morgan, Jr., and his sisters Dot Craig and Peggy Cole of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

His funeral service will be at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church. Monsignor Harry Greig will officiate. Burial will follow in Consolata Cemetery. Visitation will be at Johnson Funeral Home on Monday from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Pallbearers for the service will be Dennis Walker, Bryan Barootes, David LaFleur, Dan Flavin, James Gayle and Bill Brown. Honorary pallbearers are Ed English, Bill Flavin, Dr. Elwyn Cavin, Bill Peard, Bob Stewart, and John Broussard of Baton Rouge.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, One Lakeshore Drive Suite #1585, Lake Charles, LA 70629 or the Alzheimer's Association, 3717 Government Street Suite #7, Alexandria, LA 71302.