Obituaries
Obituary for Reverend James Oliver Morgan
James Oliver was born December 10, 1941, in Fort Pillow, Tenn., to the late Rev. William Ernest Morgan, Sr., and Mrs. Lillian Jewel Bond Morgan. He was their seventh child in what would become 12 children born to them. Family lore has it that they were a happy bunch, sharing their sizeable rural farm with their Grandfather and step-Grandmother Richard Everett & Caroline Morgan.
James graduated from Lauderdale High School in 1961, and went on to attend S.A. Owen Junior College (later merged with Lemoyne).
James gave his life to Christ at an early age and joined Oak Grove Baptist Church in Ft. Pillow. The family later moved to Ripley, and James and the other Morgan children joined and fully participated in Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church. Later, in Milwaukee, Wis., James accepted the call to the Christian ministry and was licensed and ordained under the tutelage of Pastor Sargent at Zion Hill M.B. Church. Upon his Return to Ripley, TN, after nearly 45 years in Wisconsin, James reunited as an ordained minister with Morning Star, under the late Rev. Dr. J.E. Sullen, who along with his wife sponsored his return to the seminary ~ the Tennessee School of Religion ~ where James always said he realized one of his life’s dreams.
Professionally, James had become one of, if not the first Licensed African-American Furniture Salesmen in Wisconsin, and worked for Niss Furniture Stores, where he rose to the rank of manager ~ often winning prizes to places as far afield as Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Orlando, Fla. He subsequently worked for the Milwaukee Journal as a delivery transportation manager, and held a ‘special’ route, which he later trained his brother William, Jr. to do, and that ‘Bro. Bill’ still holds. James went on to work for the Chicago Tribune in Circulation until he retired to Ripley; where he was a driver for the Helen Tucker Developmental Center & the Delta Human Resources Services until retirement at age 70.
Like all people, James had great life victories, and great challenges: This writer (paraphrasing Shakespeare) is here to raise a praise report for all the good God did with James, and the legacy he leaves behind:
He leaves to mourn him five daughters: Patricia Morgan [Baton Rouge, LA], Tonish (Leon) Elmore [Hartford, Ct.], Yolonda Jones-Morgan Guthrie [Milwaukee], Karakul ‘Karis’ Lane [Los Angeles, CA], and Kinah LaSha Morgan {Memphis, TN]. Surviving siblings are Gertrude Taylor [Columbus, OH], Sara Halliburton [Detroit, MI], Louella Morgan[Atlanta, GA], Maggie (Jerome) Carolyn Mosley [Willingboro, NJ], Linda (Rev. Alonzo) Sutton, North Carolina, and Rev. Robert Morgan-Wilde, Ripley, TN. Other survivors include the children & surviving spouses of Mary Adams, John Richard Morgan, Ernestine Montgomery, & Brenda Morgan McCoy. Finally, there is a host of Morgan & Bond cousins and family friends and co-workers in the Gospel Ministry.
A Memorial Service will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Road, Memphis, TN 38134 Tel. (901) 379-0861
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James graduated from Lauderdale High School in 1961, and went on to attend S.A. Owen Junior College (later merged with Lemoyne).
James gave his life to Christ at an early age and joined Oak Grove Baptist Church in Ft. Pillow. The family later moved to Ripley, and James and the other Morgan children joined and fully participated in Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church. Later, in Milwaukee, Wis., James accepted the call to the Christian ministry and was licensed and ordained under the tutelage of Pastor Sargent at Zion Hill M.B. Church. Upon his Return to Ripley, TN, after nearly 45 years in Wisconsin, James reunited as an ordained minister with Morning Star, under the late Rev. Dr. J.E. Sullen, who along with his wife sponsored his return to the seminary ~ the Tennessee School of Religion ~ where James always said he realized one of his life’s dreams.
Professionally, James had become one of, if not the first Licensed African-American Furniture Salesmen in Wisconsin, and worked for Niss Furniture Stores, where he rose to the rank of manager ~ often winning prizes to places as far afield as Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Orlando, Fla. He subsequently worked for the Milwaukee Journal as a delivery transportation manager, and held a ‘special’ route, which he later trained his brother William, Jr. to do, and that ‘Bro. Bill’ still holds. James went on to work for the Chicago Tribune in Circulation until he retired to Ripley; where he was a driver for the Helen Tucker Developmental Center & the Delta Human Resources Services until retirement at age 70.
Like all people, James had great life victories, and great challenges: This writer (paraphrasing Shakespeare) is here to raise a praise report for all the good God did with James, and the legacy he leaves behind:
He leaves to mourn him five daughters: Patricia Morgan [Baton Rouge, LA], Tonish (Leon) Elmore [Hartford, Ct.], Yolonda Jones-Morgan Guthrie [Milwaukee], Karakul ‘Karis’ Lane [Los Angeles, CA], and Kinah LaSha Morgan {Memphis, TN]. Surviving siblings are Gertrude Taylor [Columbus, OH], Sara Halliburton [Detroit, MI], Louella Morgan[Atlanta, GA], Maggie (Jerome) Carolyn Mosley [Willingboro, NJ], Linda (Rev. Alonzo) Sutton, North Carolina, and Rev. Robert Morgan-Wilde, Ripley, TN. Other survivors include the children & surviving spouses of Mary Adams, John Richard Morgan, Ernestine Montgomery, & Brenda Morgan McCoy. Finally, there is a host of Morgan & Bond cousins and family friends and co-workers in the Gospel Ministry.
A Memorial Service will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Road, Memphis, TN 38134 Tel. (901) 379-0861
Previous Events
Service
Saturday
5
Mar
12:00 PM
- 2:30 PM
Serenity Funeral Home
1638 Sycamore View Road
Memphis, TN 38134
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