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William Morgan Obituary
William (Bill) Woodrow Morgan, Jr.
Aug. 19, 1940 - Jan. 20, 2022
NORMAL - William (Bill) Woodrow Morgan, Jr. was born in Atlanta, GA on August 19, 1940. He passed peacefully at home in Normal, IL, on January 20, 2022 due to Parkinson's Disease. His parents were William Woodrow Morgan, Sr. and Frances Elizabeth (Coffee) Morgan. He is survived by his wife Ellen MacCannell Morgan; sister Mary Ellen May (Michael); sons: William Eric Morgan (Aimee) and Jason Morgan (Nicole); and grandchildren: Jasper Morgan, Julia Morgan and Maxwell Morgan.
Bill graduated from North Georgia College in 1962 with an English major and a minor in modern foreign languages. While at North Georgia, he participated in the ROTC program; commissioned 2LT USAR on graduation. In 1962 he moved to Chattanooga, TN, with his sister and parents. Subsequently he attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and earned an MA in English in 1963. He enrolled in their PhD program until he was called to active duty at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN, in 1966. He transferred to West Point in 1966 with the rank of Captain and taught English there until 1969. After the Army he completed the program at University of Tennessee, Knoxville and graduated with a PhD in English in 1969. He was hired by the Illinois State University English department in 1969 where he taught for 30-years.
As a local resident for more than 50-years, he was active throughout the community. He served on the organizing committee for the establishment of the Old North Normal Historic District, was a member of Illinois Grand Prairie Master Naturalists, co-produced Poetry Radio on WGLT for 23-years, and served on the board of the McLean County Rape Crisis Center to name but a few. He and Ellen were married in 2012 "and there my life began."
He was a tenured Professor of English at I.S.U. and a respected poet. As a scholar he was best known for his work on Thomas Hardy. He published over 30 essays and presented 12 invited lectures on Thomas Hardy and on Feminist themes in literary study and pedagogy at professional meetings and conferences. In addition, he coordinated 20 I.S.U Study Abroad Programs, 1979-1998: "A Summer in Thomas Hardy's England." As a poet he published over 30 individual poems, three chapbooks, and one full-length book of his own poems: The Art of Salvage (Normal, IL: Downstate Legacies, 2016).
An avid music lover and tenor he sang with the Robert Shaw Chorale from 1976-78, then later with the I.S.U. Civic Chorale and gave a solo recital in 1974. He was a great lover of all classical music but especially opera. Saturdays were usually spent listening to broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera on local public radio.
He was a lifelong fisherman, birder and naturalist, often to be found fishing or hunting on his "borrow pond" in Lexington. He shared that love with his sons by sponsoring 20-years of fishing trips to the Florida Keys to escape the coldest part of the Illinois winter. He was frequently seen happily bicycling on the Constitution Trail or simply out enjoying the beauty of nature. He was known to love a glass of red wine and an ice cream sandwich. He was well-loved and he will be greatly missed.
A Memorial Service will be held Saturday January 29 2:00 PM at the I.S.U. Alumni Center, Normal.
In lieu of flowers please donate to the William Morgan Poetry Award https://giving.illinoisstate.edu/fund/william-morgan-poetry-award/
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for William Morgan
Doug Hettinger
April 18, 2022
It's now April, 2022, and I just learned of Bill's leaving us. From the time I was in his English 103 class, to his being part of the committee that got me into grad school at ISU on an assistantship, to my putting insulation under his front porch as a paid (by him) summer job (one he I'm sure never forgot, considering the rumblings coming out from underground--like Hamlet's ghost), to the talks in his office and on his porch about sundry lit and life things, Bill played a most significant part in my life. We bonded over Shakespeare and left each other at ISU over Hardy (I wrote my final paper for him on Hardy's poems of 1912) and now that I've learned from his wife in an email that he is gone, I have lost one of the few people in my life who made a concerted effort to understand me. In that way, and for that reason, Bill, you are forever with me, if not here, then in the poetry, and in the novels and in the continued explorations in life. Much love my friend, and I'm sure wherever that great spirit of yours resides, the place is better off for it.
Arinze Odimegwu
February 9, 2022
My Condolences go out to Eric and the Morgan Family. I am sorry for your loss and wish you peace. May God bless you and your family in this sensitive time and may the love from your family and friends help you get through this grief.
Rich and Carmela Henry
February 1, 2022
Dear Eric, Aimee and family,
Sending condolences on the loss of your wonderful Dad. Hoping the times you spent together leave you with heartwarming memories. May these memories and the stories shared with friends and loved ones bring you comfort at this difficult time. With deepest sympathy and love.
Paul Morris
January 26, 2022
I have very fond memories of Bill and his poetry classes, as well as our numerous corridor chats, when I crossed the pond in the 1980´s to embark on an M.A. He had an aura of tranquility about him, and helped make me feel at home.
R.I.P.
Lisa Boyd
January 26, 2022
My condolences to the Morgan family. Bill started teaching at ISU just 4 years after my dad did (Harold Boyd) and they became friends. He also stayed friends with my mother, the late Marilyn Boyd, until her passing. I fondly remember summer evenings as a child we were all invited over to his house. Bill always treated me like a real person and not a little kid. Recently we had reconnected through Facebook. I am so sorry to hear he had been ill.
Nina Shandloff
January 25, 2022
RIP Bill, a dear friend since his first Hardy summer course in England in 1979, when he stayed with us in London. Luckily we did finally manage to visit Normal. We knew when we spent a few days with him & Ellen in Dorset in 2018 that would probably be our last face-to-face encounter. I will miss him very much.
BEN SPELLMAN
January 24, 2022
Very sorry for you loss Eric. My sympathies for you and your family
Ann Renee (Harding) Frels
January 24, 2022
I am just so sorry to learn of Dr. Morgan's passing. I was at ISU in the 70s and 80s, and, although I wasn't in any of his classes, I remember him well. He was such a kind and talented man. Praying for all of his family and friends. God bless you much.
Gretchen Knapp
January 23, 2022
On behalf of the John Wesley Powell Audubon Society, I offer our deep sympathy for you loss. Bill had a heart for nature, especially birds. His poems remain among my favorite. We wish you peace and will miss him as will many.
Daughn and Mike Schiappa
January 23, 2022
Our heartfelt sympathies to you and your family, Eric.
We love you!
Karen Banno
January 23, 2022
Morgan was one of those teachers that taught so much more than the curriculum. He was my favorite teacher at ISU, even though I was not an English major. Morgan was kind enough to allow me to audit his 1982 English Hardy summer course in Weymouth, and he, my fellow students, Jim & Ruth Skilling (local guides) and the whole trip itself is still one I love to think about. Rainbow trout (stuffed) was caught and cooked by Morgan, and he was even kind enough to allow me to go on his fly fishing expeditions...after carefully explaining to me that fishing licenses there had to do with the amount of fish caught, not the time involved, so, even though we started first thing in the morning, I needed to be prepared to stay past dark if need be to get the fish limit. Actually, I think Morgan was more worried if I could actually not talk for most of that time... Another fond remembrance of that summer is when Morgan and I were showing a group of students from Emory University (who were doing a course at Oxford), led by a teacher friend of Morgan´s, St. Michael´s Church in Stinsford. Particularly, the gravesite where Hardy´s heart was buried. While there, who should come by was the renowned Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, who was a admirer of Hardy. Morgan was able to arrange for Heaney and friend (and Morgan and myself) to an unscheduled visit to Max Gate, Hardy´s nearby home. All in all, a rather remarkable time! My sympathy goes out to all who knew, loved, liked and admired the man...how lucky we were!
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