S1 US NAVY

WORLD WAR II

John "Jack" Harrison Morgan peacefully passed away while at his home in West Frankfort, Illinois, on November 27, 2009, surrounded by his immediate family. Jack, born on July 1, 1927, in West Frankfort, was the youngest of five children with four sisters, Irene Price, Lillian Morgan, Nina Chornak, and Justine James, all of who are deceased.

He is survived by his wife, his daughter and his son. He also has three lovely grandchildren that he totally adored, and one great grandchild. Other close surviving relatives include his niece and two nephews.

Jack was a graduate of West Frankfort Community High School and after taking some time with his new bride, decided to continue his education at Southern Illinois University where he earned a Masters Degree in Geology. He spent the majority of his professional career as a consulting geologist in the petroleum industry, where his efforts resulted in the discovery of several oil & gas fields and provided him opportunities to travel, often to Denver and some exciting international locations like Indonesia. His son John is also a geologist, providing a father-son opportunity, where they worked closely together on several projects during the last ten years. He also held positions with the U.S. Geological Survey and was appointed by the Governor of Illinois as the Chief of the Oil and Gas Division for the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals in Springfield. He was a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the Illinois Oil and Gas Association.

Jack, also a Navy Veteran of World War II, often spoke of the times when he was assigned the special task of navigating the battleship, the U.S.S. New Jersey, all at the young age of 17. He was also quite the bowler in his younger years, in fact, a champion bowler, bowling two straight back-to-back perfect games of 300. He was a member of the Elks and Moose Lodge #795, where he enjoyed spending many Saturday afternoons reminiscing with close friends about the good old days.

Special thanks to all his caregivers during the final phases of his illness, especially his daughter Robin.