Jesse Oron Morgan, Jr.

SHREVEPORT, LA - Jesse Oron Morgan, Jr. died September 2, 2014 at The Health Center at Live Oak in Shreveport, LA. Funeral services will be held for Jesse at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 5, 2014 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Chapel, 1815 Marshall St., Shreveport, LA. Rev. Mimi McDowell, Rev. Dr. Wybra Price, II and Rev Jo Ann Cooper will officiate. Interment will follow at Forest Park Cemetery, St. Vincent Ave. The family will receive friends on Friday at 9:00 a.m. until service time. Mr. Morgan was born in Crowley, LA to Jesse Oron Morgan, Sr. and Lavinia Pearl Shepherd Morgan on February 21, 1922. He graduated from Crowley High School in 1939 and attended Louisiana Tech University before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was assigned to Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Alabama where he served as a musician in the 304^th Maxwell Field Army Air Forces Band. In December of 1953, Jesse married Norma Ellen Stovall Morgan in Baton Rouge, LA. After the war, Jesse enrolled in Architecture School at Tulane University. While at Tulane he served as President of the Tulane Architectural Society and was elected into Tau Sigma Delta Honorary Fraternity in Architecture. He graduated 1^st in his class with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1949 and was awarded the American Institute of Architecture Medal of Honor. In July of 1949 he became a Registered Architect and was accepted as a Corporate Member of the American Institute of Architects. After graduation from Tulane, he went to work for Bodman and Murrell Architects in Baton Rouge, LA. In 1950, he and Norma moved to Shreveport and he started working for William B. Wiener & Associates. In 1952, he became a Registered Architect with the National Council of Architects Registration Board. That same year he was selected to serve on the Shreveport City Planning Commission. In 1955, Jesse was chosen as a Representative of the American Institute of Architects to The Institute of Swedish Architects International Exhibition and Conferences held in Helsingborg, Sweden. In 1957, he became a partner in the firm Morgan & Sandifer in Shreveport. He also served on the Board of Governors for the Gulf States Region AIA. In 1958 he became a partner in the firm William B. Wiener, Morgan & O'Neal and continued with this firm through several name changes until he retired in 1998. When he retired from Morgan, Hill, Sutton & Mitchell, he had 50 years of experience and had served as principal in charge for 44 years. In 1969 he was awarded a Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for excellence in design and in 1975 the Louisiana Architects Association awarded him with the Medal of Honor for his significant and enduring contributions to the advancement of architecture and his inspiring influence on the architects of Louisiana. In 1979 he served as Chairman of the Louisiana Consortium for Architectural Education in Louisiana and oversaw the first professional study of architectural education in Louisiana. He also served on the Architects Selection Board in Louisiana. His work has been recognized in many publications and has won numerous awards. Jesse was registered to practice architecture in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama and he has designed many buildings in all of these states. Jesse is a lifetime member of the American Institute of Architects and the Louisiana Architects Association, which he served as Vice President in 1974 and President in 1975 and the Shreveport Chapter of AIA, which he served in 1954 as treasurer, in 1955 as secretary, in 1956 as Vice President, and in 1957 as President. In 1958 he was chosen as Chairman of the Caddo-Bossier Easter Seal Drive Campaign. Jesse is a past member of the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce, the Shreveport Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, and the Lufkin, Texas Chamber of Commerce. He is a past member of East Ridge Country Club and served on the initial board of the East Ridge Country Club. He served 6 years on the board of the Family and Children's Service Bureau and also was Vice President in 1958 and Treasurer in 1959. He is a past chairman of the Speaker's Bureau for Brotherhood Week for the National Council of Christians and Jews. He was an active member of Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in which he was a Past President of the Men's Club and a past member of the official board. He is a past member of the Petroleum Club of Shreveport, the Kiwanis Club, the YMCA, and the Lufkin Rotary Club. Jesse was a past member and avid supporter of the Boy Scouts. In 1977 he was elected as the 1^st President of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and was re-elected for a 2^nd term in 1978. In his spare time, Jesse enjoyed making violins and also designed and constructed ceremonial maces for Centenary College, LSU-Medical School in Shreveport, Bossier Parish Community College, and St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Jesse was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Norma Ellen Stovall Morgan, and a brother, Delbert Wynn Morgan. He is survived by a daughter, Kay Huntsman and husband, Gary of Carthage, TX; granddaughters, Katie Huntsman of Plano, TX and Amy McPhearson and husband, Josh of Logansport, LA; and a brother, Karlos Ray Morgan of Raytown, MO and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials may be made to Noel Memorial United Methodist Church, 520 Herndon St., Shreveport, LA 71101, the Louisiana Methodist Children's Home, P.O. Box 929, Ruston, LA 71273 or the Tulane School of Architecture, Richardson Memorial Hall, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118-5698. Online condolences may be made at www.rose-neath.com.