James Rollin Morgali

He had a winning smile, a mischievous sense of humor, and a goal of helping others. Jim Morgali was a genuinely good, generous and caring man until the day he died on December 1 at the age of 93. His entire family and many friends miss his presence among them.

Jim was born in Salem, Oregon, on September 7, 1932, to Bill and Gladys Morgali. When Bill joined the Marine Corps at the start of WWII, Jim started a series of part time jobs including picking fruit, delivering all sorts of things and eventually helping residents at the Oregon School for the Blind while he was a student at Willamette University. Jim was always willing to work, often whistling while doing so.

After completing three years at Willamette, Jim transferred to Stanford and he received a Physics degree from Willamette and a Civil Engineering degree from Stanford. Jim stayed at Stanford to earn a master's degree. Good thing, because he met Diane when they both earned their board by serving meals in the dining room at a women's dormitory. After about five months they both knew they would marry, although Diane does not recall any formal proposal. They married on September 22, 1957. After 68 years of marriage together, they still were best friends and partners. Diane will always have Jim in her heart.

During the Korean War, Jim did ROTC and subsequently served in the Air Force as a base engineer at Presque Isle AFB in northern Maine. After his service ended, he and Diane returned to Stanford to pursue their graduate studies.

Jim earned his PhD in 1961 and then headed to Stockton to start teaching Civil Engineering at the University of the Pacific, where, for 38 years he taught, always trying to do what was best for his students and trying to help them however he could. There is a lab room at UOP dedicated to him and his long-time colleague and friend Bob Hamernik. Sabbatical leaves allowed the family to live in Ithaca, NY, Palo Alto, CA, and The Hague, Holland. But Stockton and UOP were always home.

Jim loved sports, games, and fun in general. He played tennis in high school and college. At UOP he won multiple IM titles in volleyball, and served as an assistant tennis coach for one year. He was active and fit almost until the end of his life. Even is his 80's you could find him in the backyard pitching whiffle ball to his grandsons. He also was a more than solid chess and bridge player.

Jim was a supportive and caring father. He instilled a love of learning, thinking, and math, and was very active in his kids' activities. He helped coach in sports and attended every game and all the practices that he could. The kids say they think every teammate knew who their dad was. One friend's family called him "the inhumanely nice man." And he was.

Jim was a man of great faith. Holy Cross United Methodist Church became Jim and Diane's church family in 1961 and was central to Jim's life. He did his best to follow the example of Jesus in loving and serving others all his life and supported Diane when she felt a calling to Bugembe, Uganda, to participate in a service project supporting the work of an indigenous non-profit organization serving AIDS orphans and their care givers. Holy Cross eventually became a partner in the work and was instrumental in founding a separate non-profit, the Bugembe Women's Resource Centre, a project Jim believed in with his whole heart until the day he died. When the new Centre complex was completed, Jim was in Bugembe to cut the ceremonial opening ribbon.

A genuinely committed family man, Jim leaves behind wife Diane, children: Catherine (Brian), Dave (Tamara), and Dan (Michelle), and his five grandsons: Matthew, Jake, Eli, Will, and Freddie. We all loved him dearly.

A memorial service for Jim will take place at 1 o'clock on Saturday, January 3, at Holy Cross United Methodist Church,1200 W. Hammer Lane, Stockton, CA, 95209

If you wish to honor Jim's memory, donations to support the work of the Bugembe Women's Resource Centre may be made to Holy Cross. The church will forward all donations to the Centre in Uganda.