Glenn Grover Morgan

Glenn Grover Morgan, 89, of Weatherford, died Monday morning, December 24, 2012 in the Weatherford Regional Medical Center. He was born in Bristow, Oklahoma on October 14, 1923 to John and Winnifred Boggs Morgan.  He graduated from high school in Salem, Illinois and after his discharge from the Navy, he was employed by Texaco, Inc. for 37 years. Before leaving Salem, he met and married the “love of his life,” Mertie Jo Lowe Morgan. This past May, they celebrated 69 years of marriage. On July 30, 1945, Glenn became part of the worst naval disaster in American history with the sinking of his ship, the USS Indianapolis.  Only 317 sailors survived the ordeal, while more than 900 of their shipmates perished. He was an active member of the USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization and was always willing to share his story, especially loving to visit schools and speak to children. His family often joked that he never met a microphone he didn’t like.  A Bugle Master Third Class in the Navy, Glenn remained a musician all his life.  From the deck of his home on a small lake, notes from his trumpet would skip across the water where neighbors, near and far, would be serenaded by the songs of Tommy Dorsey or Glen Miller.  For many somber occasions, he would sound Taps. From 1999 to 2011, he traveled to Midland, Texas every Veterans Day to sound Taps at Rusk Elementary for their annual program. Those children loved him and he loved them back. He was a great American, whose heart would “glow warm” at the sight of the flag. Part of the Greatest Generation, he was a self-made, self-taught man. He never stopped researching or learning and he never stopped teaching. Glenn had a repertoire of jokes and riddles that he generously shared through the years and they will continue to bring smiles and laughter to all who knew him. Glenn will be dearly missed by many friends and by his wife, Mertie Jo, son, Tom Morgan and his wife, Sharon, all of Weatherford and two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Michelle Morgan Hackleman and her husband, Paul and their sons, Luke, Owen and Cole of Texarkana, and Blaine Morgan and his wife, Melissa and their daughters, Kamille and Sophie of Arlington. Extended family includes Bill and Kittie Sallee of Weatherford, Sylvia and Clark Wood of Austin and Susan and Bard McMullen of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Other family members will also cherish his memory. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Drusilla Sallee and a brother, John Perry Morgan.
 In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:
USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization
1073 Orange Ave East
 St. Paul, MN 55106
 (Attention: Elko Perchyshyn, Treasurer)

A funeral service, officiated by Reverend Robert Nimocks, will be held
at the Annetta United Methodist Church at 2:00 on Friday, December 28,
2012 with interment in the Newberry Cemetery. 

Visitation will be Thursday
afternoon at the funeral chapel, 913 N. Elm in Weatherford.