Joan Elsie Morgan

1927 - 2012

Joan Elsie Cheesman Morgan was born Feb. 3, 1927, in Barbados, BWI, where she grew up a mere block from the beach. Her father died young, so she and her two siblings were raised by her Mum, her maiden Aunt Marge and her widowed grandmother. She began her working career in the same insurance company as her Aunt Marge, but soon went to Antigua with her sister, Doriel, and several girlfriends seeking a better job. There she met and married the dashing Maj. William Ovid Morgan from Starkville, Miss., in 1945. "Bill" was a career Army officer, and they were stationed all over the states and the world from D.C. to Tokyo, Hawaii, to Germany, Georgia to Pennsylvania.

Joan was a talented decorator, a wonderful cook and a gracious hostess. Many happy vacations were spent at Panama City Beach while the couple was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga. Eventually 'Nana' went back to school and became a legal secretary for the Supreme Court of SC in Columbia in 1977. She retired in 1995 and enjoyed many years of growing flowers, serving her church, playing bridge and tennis, and traveling to visit her family in North Carolina, Panama City and Canada. In 2007, she moved to Panama City Beach to be close to her elder daughter, Jo Ann Stone, and enjoy living near the beach again. Due to a chronic illness, she moved into Provision Living this past year. Many thanks to all the caring staff there and special thanks to Alex, Maria and Sissy, and to her Covenant Hospice nurse, Mary. The angels came to take her up to heaven on April 18, 2012.

A memorial celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday April 29, 2012, at St. Thomas by the Sea Episcopal Church on Wisteria Lane, with light refreshments to follow in the Fellowship Hall.

Joan was preceded in death by her parents, Elsie DeLisle Puckerin and Everton James Cheesman; her sister, Doriel Haunts; her brother, Rupert Cheesman; and her ex-husband, W.O. Morgan.

She is survived by her daughters Jo Ann Morgan Stone (Jimmy) of Panama City Beach and Kathy Sue Morgan (Richard Kearney) of Raleigh, N.C.; her grandsons, Jeffrey Scott Cain (Carrie) of Lynn Haven and Joel Morgan Kearney of Raleigh, N.C.; her granddaughters, Melanie Morgan Cain (Erika Cunha) of Panama City Beach and Laura Maria Kearney of the Dominican Republic; three great-grandsons, Kenan, Jude and Aiden Cain of Lynn Haven; along with numerous nieces and nephews in Canada and the States.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to St. Thomas by the Sea Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 7359, Laguna Beach, FL 32413; or Covenant Hospice, 107 W. 19th St., Panama City, FL 32405.

Wilson Funeral Home
Family Owned Since 1911
214 Airport Road
Panama City, Fla.
850-785-5272