Dorothy Jean Morgan

1924 - 2017

b. June 10, 1924, Detroit, Michigan d. March 14, 2017, Carmichael, California Jean was the only child born to Seymour Bryan Cromwell and Rose Adah Davies. Her father was a travelling salesman and she grew up moving around the country with her parents. She would sometimes reside with her grandparents, alternating between her maternal grandparents on the farm in Mazon, IL, and her paternal grandparents in Westchester, PA, the college town where her grandfather was a professor. The family settled down for a while in Windsor, CT, where she graduated from high school. She then attended Iowa State University Ames, where she graduated in 1946 with a degree in history and government. She later pursued graduate studies in business administration at Sacramento State University. Jean met her future husband William Willard "Bill" Morgan early in her freshmen year at ISU. Jean and Bill were married April 19, 1947, at her parents' home in Plandome, NY. They set up housekeeping in Arlington, VA, then moved to Kirksville, MO, and finally to Des Moines, IA, where they welcomed into the family daughter Virginia Jean "Ginni" Morgan (Stuart Woolman) in 1950 and son Steven William "Steve" Morgan (Sharon Trueblood) in 1953. In 1955, Jean and Bill purchased radio station KHUB in Watsonville, CA, and moved the family to the West Coast. After selling the station in 1957, they relocated to Sacramento, CA. In the mid-1970s, after the deaths of her parents, Jean inherited and took over the management of her mother's family farm in Mazon, IL, which she continued to manage until shortly before her death. Jean and Bill joined Carmichael Presbyterian Church shortly after their arrival in the area and she was an active member of the choir there for over 50 years until failing eyesight prevented her from driving. Jean was a lifetime member of and active in the League of Women Voters for over 70 years. As a historian, she was keenly interested in genealogy, spending much time researching her family and assisting others to research theirs, and was also a member and officer of the Genealogical Association of Sacramento for many years. Jean was a member and officer of the ROAL, and a member of the ISU Alumni Association. Jean was preceded in death by her husband and parents and is survived by both her children. A celebration of Jean's life will be held on April 2, 2017, at 1:30 p.m., at Eskaton Village Carmichael, 3939 Walnut Avenue, Carmichael, CA 95608. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice in Jean's name.