William R. Morgan was born in Seattle, Washington, and passed away in Kalispell, Montana, on Feb. 10, 2016, at the age of 75 years. Bill pursued a very active and healthy lifestyle, but it was the complications from chemo drugs that took his life (pulmonary fibrosis).
Bill and his older brother, Bob, were raised by parents who started their family later in life. His father, Harry Morgan (Shamokin, Pennsylvania) had a military career during WWII that took the family to Washington D.C. They later settled in Seattle, where Harry worked on the electrification of the Milwaukee Railroad. His parents spent their early married years as outdoor enthusiasts, and hiked, skied and climbed all over the Northwest as members of the Seattle Mountaineers. That is where Bill got his passion for being outdoors. Their mother, Eulalie Lasnier (Kansas), died of cancer in 1947 when she was only 51 years old, and the boys were 7 and 10. The boys were raised by their father until 1953, when he married Lucile Uran, who also had a passion for mountaineering.
Bill went to Nathan Eckstein grade school in Seattle, and graduated from Roosevelt High. While in college, Bill worked as a seasonal employee in 1962 and 1963 for the Forest Service in Worland, Wyoming. Bill graduated in June 1964 from University of Montana with a bachelor’s degree in forestry. He then served in the Army from August 1964, when he started basic training at Fort Lewis, went on to the Oakland Army Depot and sailed to Korea in April 1965, where he served for one year and then was discharged from Fort Sill in July 1966.
After serving in Korea, he got his career conditional appointment in August 1966 with the Kaniksu National Forest. His Forest Service career (primarily timber management) took him to beautiful places and new hiking areas along the way: Seeley Lake District on the Lolo National Forest, West Fork District of the Bitterroot National Forest, Hungry Horse and Glacier View Districts on the Flathead National Forest. Bill retired in May 1994 working almost 30 years with the Forest Service.
Bill married Devvi Ericson in the fall 1984, which made for some really beautiful and colorful anniversary trips; they were married for almost 32 years.
Survivors include his wife, Devvi of Kalispell; nephew, Scott Morgan, of LaPine, Oregon, his wife, Lee, and their son Tyson Morgan and wife Selena of Houston, Texas; daughter, Ashley, her husband Ramy Srour and son Noah of New York City; nephew, Rob Morgan, his wife Jenny Rideout and daughter Ruby of Portland, Oregon; niece, Anne Marie, her husband James Watts and son Xander of Wood Village, Oregon; sister-in-law, Claudia Morgan, of Portland, Oregon; and second cousin, Al (Butch) Morgan, his wife Kim and his children Jessica and Campbell of Stanwood, Washington. Bill’s family connections were really important to him because he “settled” so far away from the rest of the family. Every meeting was treasured and filled full of wonderful memories.
Other people important in Bill’s life were Bob Benson and Jerry Kogan and each of their families.
Bill has accomplished significant climbs such as Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Baker, Mount St. Helens (before its eruption), Granite Peak, Great Northern, Torrey and Tweedy, Trapper Peak, Gray Wolf, and so many others. He was camping on a peak in the Bitterroot Mountains when they heard something that turned out to be the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Bill formed a strong bond with a group of hikers from the Missoula Rocky Mountaineers. This close-knit group still meets for “reunions” every two to four years.
One of the Mountaineers remembered Bill for his “indefatigable energy,” writing about him: “On the trail he was like the Energizer Bunny, unstoppable. The essential Boy Scout, always prepared. When we were heading off for a short hike at Toroweap, I noticed his huge day pack, hefted it and said, ‘Bill, what do you have in this thing.’ He replied, ‘A first aid kit and a few other survival items.’ I thought this guy is ready for the apocalypse.”
You could always depend on Bill; he was the “Rock.” He planned activities, taking risk out of the equation, and building excitement and adventure into each outing. Bill also enjoyed photography and packed an SLR camera on all his hikes and backpacking excursions; there are thousands of slides documenting the trips.
Bill enjoyed geocaching and found it a great way to explore unknown territories. A fall trip to Maine and New Hampshire centered on geocaching and the trip turned out better than any “Leaf Peeping” guided tour.
Bill said “you work hard, to play hard.” He gave up vacations for priority field work in the summers with the Forest Service, and in retirement, pursued other outdoor activities such as golfing three times a week with other Forest Service retirees, skiing on sunny days at Big Mountain with his buddy Dan Smiley, and hiking, biking and cross-country skiing to fill out the rest of the weekdays. Every day was an adventure.
He pursued volunteer activities that would allow him to be in the woods. He served various positions on the Flathead Nordic Ski Patrol 1992 to 2007 and received several types of Certificates of Outstanding Service from the local division and the National Ski Patrol System Yellow Merit Star award for Outstanding Nordic Patroller for the Northern Division 2000-2001.
He volunteered countless hours in support of his professional career. He was an American Tree Farm System Inspector doing reviews from 1997 to 2011. He also provided support to the Family Forestry Expo from 1990 to 2009, giving local fifth-graders the opportunity to learn about and appreciate working, living and playing in the Great American Outdoors. Bill belonged to the Society of American Foresters, and received the Flathead Chapter Forester of the Year Award in 2001.
Bill’s brother, Bob, got Bill involved in computers in the early years of the development of the technology. They were building and re-configuring towers, adding hard drives, installing graphics cards and keeping up with the advancing technologies. That interest led him to his most recent volunteer endeavor of providing computer and information technology support to the AARP Tax-aide Program in Northwest Montana from 2009 to 2015. He would recondition donated computers and do software installations and updates for tax preparation. He was also a certified tax preparer and volunteered countless hours during the tax season.
Bill was an American Red Cross rare blood type donor and donated 127 units before he was diagnosed with cancer. He knew the need is constant and a contribution is important for a healthy and reliable blood supply; and you know you’ve helped change a life by donating.
Bill wanted cremation and a scattering of ashes over some beautiful place in Northwest Montana. There is no planned service and his family requests in lieu of flowers, please contribute to one of your favorite charities.