Joseph F. Morgan Jr. passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones at his home in Worcester MA on May 6, 2024.
Joe was born on May 19, 1930 in the Bronx NY, son of the late Joseph F Morgan Sr and Susan (Wilson) Morgan, and grew up in Middletown NY where he attended St Joseph’s school and Middletown High School. He graduated from Cornell University in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in zoology, then served in the US Army in the Korean War, working as a lab technician in a mobile army surgical hospital (MASH).
After the war, Joe attended Georgetown University studying linguistics while working as a lab technician at Children’s Hospital in Washington DC. There he met his wife-to-be Mary E. Murray, a medical technologist. They moved to NY for his job as a sales rep for pharmaceutical company Parke-Davis, and lived on Edgewood Drive in Saugerties, NY for many years, raising five children. During those years Joe did renovations on the house, kept a large vegetable garden, and amassed a collection of music by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Handel, and others. He became a self-taught fluent speaker of French and Russian, wild mushroom aficionado, red wine and dark chocolate enthusiast, and avid golfer. He cared for his wife Mary as her mobility declined until her death in 2008, then moved to Massachusetts in 2021 to be near his daughter as his own health declined.
Joe is survived by his son Stephen, of Florida; daughter Susan, and grandsons Eric and Peter, of Massachusetts; son Joseph, and daughter-in-law Laurel and grandson Kieran, of Palenville, NY; his brother Frank and sister-in-law Barbara, of New Jersey; and many nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind his dear friend Alice who cared for him in his later years in Saugerties. In addition to his wife Mary, he was predeceased by his daughter Cathleen in 1967 and son Michael in 2018, as well as his sisters Jane Brestolli and Suzanne LaBagh.
Visitation will be Sunday, May 12 from 7-9pm at Seamon-Wilsey Funeral Home, 45 John St., Saugerties. Funeral services are Monday, May 13 at 10am at St. Mary of the Snow, 36 Cedar St., Saugerties. Burial will follow immediately after at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, 149 Cottage St., Middletown NY 10940.
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