Robert James Morgan

Robert J. Morgan, a former professor of government at the University of Virginia, died January 2, 2010, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Bryan, Texas. He was 91.

He was born July 25, 1918 in Port Jervis, NY to Gideon L. Morgan and Florence Dailey Morgan.

Mr. Morgan was predeceased by his parents and his step-mother, Mable L. Morgan; his wife Naomie P. Morgan; his brother Howard E. Morgan and his sister Dorcas J. Morgan.

He is survived by his sister, Ruth M. Bartell of Scottsdale, AZ; his son, C. Richard Morgan and wife Stacy of Miami, FL; his daughter, Jacquelyn Padfield of Brenham, TX; grandchildren Jeffrey Morgan and wife Amy of Alexandria, VA, Matthew Morgan of Washington, D.C. and Amanda Katherine Morgan of Charlottesville, VA; and one great grandchild, Jonathan Grant Morgan of Alexandria, VA.

Mr. Morgan grew up in Suffern, NY, where he graduated from high school in 1936. He attended Iowa State University in Ames, IA and received a Bachelor of Science degree in June 1940. In 1951 he earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Virginia, where he graduated with honors and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and the Raven Society.

On August 4, 1943 Mr. Morgan married Naomie McPherson Pegues in St. David’s Episcopal Church in Cheraw, SC. They were married for 61 years until her death in November 2004.

Immediately following his graduation from college, Mr. Morgan enlisted in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. He served in various posts both domestically and abroad in the European theater during World War II. He was a field artillery officer during the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944. He left active duty in December 1946 as a major and retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1964.

Mr. Morgan's first teaching assignment was in the Department of Government at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. In 1957, Mr. Morgan was invited to return to the University of Virginia as a Visiting Professor. He spent the remainder of his teaching career as a member of the faculty in the Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University until his retirement in 1989.

Mr. Morgan was for many years, director of the Honors Program in the Dept. of Government and Foreign Affairs. In 1996 former students of that program established the Robert J. Morgan Endowment for Government and Foreign Affairs Honors Fund. Mr. Morgan was the author of several books including: "A Whig Embattled: The Presidency Under John Tyler" (1954), "Governing Soil Conservation" (commissioned by Resources for the Future, 1965) and "James Madison On the Constitution and the Bill of Rights" (1988).

The family suggests that memorials be made to: Trinity Medical Center Foundation, 700 Medical Parkway, Brenham, TX 77833; Hospice Brazos Valley, 302 E. Blue Bell Road, Brenham, TX 77833; or The Robert J. Morgan Endowment for Government and Foreign Affairs Honors Fund, The University of Virginia, Attn: Melanie Benjamin, 400 Ray C. Hunt Drive, Suite 100, Charlottesville, VA 22904.

It was Mr. Morgan’s wish that he be cremated and his ashes, along with those of his late wife, cast in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. No memorial service is planned.

Arrangements are in the care of Brenham Memorial Chapel, 2300 Stringer Street, Brenham, TX 77833 979-836-3611 www.brenham-memorial-chapel.com