James Morgan

SWAINSBORO, Ga. - Civic and business leader, Mr. James H. "Jimmy" Morgan, age 100, of Swainsboro, GA, died Saturday, March 8, 2014, at the Emanuel Medical Center, 49 days before his 101st birthday. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at the Swainsboro First Baptist Church with Dr. Bob Blankenship officiating assisted by Rev. Paul Leigh. Interment will be in the Swainsboro City Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Durden-Hudson Funeral Home in Swainsboro on Monday evening, March 10, 2014, from 5:00 until 7:00 PM. Pallbearers are: Jim Morgan, Alec Morgan, Rob Jones, Chris Devine, John Morgan, Jr. and Tryon Fournier. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of the Jimmy Morgan Sunday School Class, which Mr. Morgan taught for over fifty-two years. Mr. Morgan was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up in Greenwood, in the Mississippi Delta, and graduated in Architecture from Georgia Tech in 1934. He pursued this talent through art and photography for his lifetime. In 1937, then working for Georgia Power Company, he married Gaynelle Franklin of Swainsboro, Georgia. On moving to Swainsboro in 1938, he became the owner and President of Franklin-Overstreet & Company, Inc., a successful Ford-Lincoln-Mercury dealership. By the time he had sold the dealership in 1970, he had been President of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association and had won Time Magazine's Dealer of the Year Award. He had also served as Chairman of the Board of the Citizens Bank, was first Chairman of the Swainsboro Housing Authority, Chairman of the Swainsboro Planning Division, Chairman of the Emanuel County Hospital, was co-founder of the Swainsboro Country Club and of Emanuel Arts Council. He served on the Georgia Council for the Arts, having been appointed by Governor Jimmy Carter. He was one of the Founders of The Pine Tree Festival and was its Chairman in 1948. He helped develop the Swainsboro Airport and flew the first airplane from the airport. He designed many homes and buildings in Swainsboro, including the First Baptist Church. He was an Eagle Scout and a retired member of Savannah's Oglethorpe Club. He was a partner with Bill Rogers in the operation of the Swainsboro Forest-Blade, for which he wrote a weekly column for almost twenty years. He was an avid world traveler, and his travels provided much material for the columns and several books. Since the founding in 1986 of Mill Creek Foundation, he has been its Executive Director. Mr. Morgan was a veteran of World War II, having been called to active duty in 1942. He achieved the rank of Captain before he returned to civilian life in Swainsboro in 1946, having served in Puerto Rico, at Camp Stewart, Georgia, and as an Escort Officer on five trips across the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Morgan was preceded in death by his first wife, Gaynelle Franklin Morgan. In 1974, Mr. Morgan and Jean Anderson Fournier were married in Kent, Washington. Both had considerable newspaper experience, having met at a press meeting at the White House. Survivors include: his wife: Mrs. Jean Anderson Morgan of Swainsboro, GA; two sons: John Franklin Morgan (Frances) of Hilton Head Island, S.C., and James Henry "Harry" Morgan, Jr. (Vanita) of Atlanta, GA; one daughter: Gaynelle "Gay" Fournier (Charles) of St. Simons Island, GA; 14 grandchildren: Cindy Jones, Jim Morgan, Lynne Morgan, Alec Morgan, John F. Beasley, Rev. C. Benjamin Beasley, Vanita E. Solomon, Rosalyn Devine, Elizabeth Willett, John Morgan, Jr., Dabney Fournier, Tryon Fournier, Tracey Fournier, and Leigh Karvasek, and 19 great grandchildren. Should friends desire, contributions may be made to the Swainsboro First Baptist Church Building Fund or to the charity of their choice. Condolences may be submitted on-line at www.durden-hudsonfuneraldirectors.com Durden-Hudson Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements for the funeral of Mr. James H. "Jimmy" Morgan of Swainsboro, GA.