John "Mike" Michael Morgan

Dr. John Michael Morgan passed peacefully on December 21, 2023 in Athens, Georgia surrounded by his family.  Dr. Morgan was born September 18, 1945 and was originally from Wren, Georgia and was the oldest of four beloved siblings.  He received his Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Georgia Southern University in 1967.  He received a Masters of Arts in Economics from Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from the University of South Carolina in 1977.  During his PhD program, he was invited to become a member of the Alpha Chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, an international honor society for Economics, in recognition of his high scholastic achievement in the field of Economics.

Teaching was his passion, and he served as a faculty member of Western Kentucky University from 1978 to 1985.  From 1986 to 2014 he served as Full Professor and Department Head of the Department of Economics and Finance at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina during which time he touched many lives and made lifelong friends and colleagues.

On December 27, 1975, he married his lifelong partner, Janice Morgan (nee Lambert) and they had two children Matthew Lambert Morgan and Jessica Morgan Phillips.  They lived in Charleston South Carolina from 1985 to 2019, when they moved to Athens Georgia to be closer to their three granddaughters, who were the apples of his eye.  The family grew, and on December 13, 2003, his son Matthew married Celanie Morgan (nee Harris) and they had a daughter, Emily Grace Morgan.  The family resides in Greenville South Carolina.  On December 8, 2012, his daughter, Jessica, married Michael Arvel Phillips, II and they had two daughters, Ellison Parker Phillips and Cora Morgan Phillips.  The family resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Morgan is preceded in death by his mother, Sarah Vivian Pennington, his father John Henry Morgan, his step-father, Paul Pennington, and his sister, Mary Bedenbaugh.  Dr. Morgan is survived by his life partner, Jan Morgan, his children and their spouses, Matthew Morgan, Celanie Harris Morgan, Jessica Phillips and Michael Phillips, his grandchildren Emily Grace Morgan, Ellison Parker Phillips, and Cora Morgan Phillips, and his siblings Pamela Pierce and Butch Pennington, John Allen Morgan, and Sandra Johnston.

Funeral services for Dr. Morgan will be held Thursday December 28, 2023, at Lord and Stephens Funeral Home at 4355 Lexington Road, in Athens Georgia.  Visitation will be open at 11:00 and services start at 2:00 p.m., with internment immediately following.  The Family welcomes donations to the American Kidney Fund in lieu of flowers.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, EAST, Athens is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.