John Michael Morgan, age 69, loving father and devoted husband, passed away at his home in Harriman, Tennessee, on January 26, 2016, after a five-year battle with colon and liver cancer.
The family will be receiving friends at a reception at Milestones Event Center located at Click Funeral Home, Farragut Chapel in Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday, January 29, 2016 from 4-6 PM. Graveside interment services will be held at 1:00 PM, Sunday, January 31, 2016, at Luke Cemetery in Ben Hill County, Georgia, with the Rev. Annette Brooks officiating.
Mr. Morgan was born on September 27, 1946, in Augusta, Georgia, to the late Hugh and Eva Morgan. Mike was a 1965 graduate of Newton County High School in Covington, Georgia. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War as a Sergeant and a Specialist in Company E, 1st Battalion 173rd Airborne, 503 Infantry. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action and the Bronze Star for Meritorious Achievement in Ground Operations. Mike received a Bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Georgia and a Master’s degree from Georgia State. He worked for Mobil Oil Corporation in Covington, and Miller Brewing Company, in Eden, North Carolina, Azusa, California, and Trenton, Ohio from 1978-2006. Mike accumulated over 2000 jumps as a Skydiver and Skydiving instructor. He earned his Gold Wings for 1000 jumps in 1982 and Diamond Wings for 2000 in 1985. He retired in Tennessee and supervised building his dream lake house. The basement bar was his pride and joy. Having retired from Miller Brewing Company, Mike loved to sample craft brews and beer and accumulated quite an extensive beer glass collection from around the world. He enjoyed classical, jazz, and symphonic music and passed a love for music to his children. Watching classic movies was an enjoyed pastime. He loved just sitting on the back deck and watching the lake… as he said, “Living the dream”. Mike was life-long Republican and followed politics with interest and dismay.
Mike is survived by his wife of 37 years, Deloice (Dee) McDaniel of Harriman, Tennessee; Children, Hugh Michael Morgan of Stone Mountain, Bronwen Anne Morgan of Atlanta, John McDaniel Morgan and wife Sara of Laurel, Maryland, Elisabeth Eva Morgan of Cincinnati, Ohio and Alexander Lindsey Morgan and wife Rachel of Louisville, Kentucky; Grandchildren, Terra, Owen, Lila and Leaf; brother, Hugh Douglas Morgan and wife Roberta of Locust Grove; sister, Susan Morgan of Mansfield; and nieces and nephews, Terri, Jim, Jennifer, Andrew, Michael, Erin, Jacob, Alicia, Amanda, Kaleb, Delaney, McKenzie, Killian and Finnigan; also surviving is his mother-in-law, Lois McDaniel of Fitzgerald.