11/30/2009 10:28:00 PM
Former Prescott mayor dies at 85
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| Former Prescott mayor Bob Morgan, 85 |
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Former Prescott mayor Bob Morgan died Saturday at the age of 85.
Morgan served as mayor from Nov. 28, 1989, to Nov. 26, 1991, shortly after serving two years on the city's planning commission.
Then-Gov. Rose Mofford named Prescott "Arizona's Christmas City" during Morgan's tenure on Dec. 2, 1989, and the title remains today.
Morgan went out of his way to hear the views of Prescott's citizens, conducting 18 town hall meetings during his two-year term.
"He did a good job," said Bob Bell, who just left the Prescott City Council. "He was a fine gentleman."
Bell and Elisabeth Ruffner were among a long list of people who publicly endorsed Morgan for a second term, but he lost to Daiton Rutkowski.
Shortly afterwards, Morgan and his wife Betty moved to Tucson, where he also served on the planning commission. He returned to Prescott about 10 years later and never left.
"He loved it here and wanted to come back," Betty said. "He loved it because it was a small town and had four seasons."
In his later years Morgan continued to follow politics, joining the 2004 celebration to open the new downtown parking garage and voicing his support in 2005 for a successful initiative to require citizens' approval for large city annexations.
Despite the fact that he lost his sight about three years ago, he still tried to keep up with what was happening at City Hall.
"He would have his wife read the paper to him," related friend Brett Mangum. "He was always interested in the political process and had a special interest in the editorials in the Courier."
Morgan leaves behind his wife of 62 years, Betty, and two grown children. He was an engineer for the aerospace industry.
"He always volunteered, no matter where we lived," including the L.A. area where he grew up, Betty recalled.
He volunteered for the Boy Scouts, Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, and the Northern Arizona VA hospital in Prescott, among other organizations. He also was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and helped with prison ministry.
Betty and Bob's relatives knew each other, so the couple first happened to meet in southern California shortly after they both were discharged from World War II.
At first, when Bob took out his photos of Germany, Betty thought he was boring.
But then he took the Pocatello, Idaho, girl to the Hollywood Palladium to dance to the famous Big Bands, and she didn't want to go home. A camellia corsage and a proposal on the beach sealed their fate.
They raised their children in L.A., but Bob became discontent with southern California as it became more populated.
"In L.A., because of the smog, we couldn't see if the sky was blue or not," Betty said.
That wasn't a problem in Prescott.
A service for Bob Morgan will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at the LDS Stake Center in Prescott.
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Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
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Bob Morgan made all City of Prescott employees feel they were needed and appreciated. I remember during his service as Mayor to the City, he would handcarry birthday cards to everyone on their birthdays. Mayor Morgan's efforts never went unnoticed and will always be remembered. He will be greatly missed.
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