Obituary of Betty L. Morgan

Morgan, Betty L. Santa Cruz Born 9/16/1919, to Glen H. and Grace W. Lathrop in Wellington, CO; died 4/23/2012, at age 92½, following a brief illness. Predeceased by her husband, William J. Morgan; survived by son, Timothy J. (Judy) Morgan of Santa Cruz, and daughter, Penelope A. (Mike) Swartz of East Lansing, MI. Leaves grandchildren Sean (Christine) Barnett, Emily (Demany) Smith, and John Morgan; and brother Glen H. (Gene) Lathrop, Jr., CPT, USN, Ret. Betty moved with her family, including seven siblings, from rural Colorado by converted school bus to Long Beach when she was six. The family moved to South Pasadena during the Great Depression, and she graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1937 and became school secretary. In late December, 1941, she married William J. Morgan, of South Pasadena, who had enlisted in the Army immediately following Pearl Harbor. (Her new mother-in-law did not die of a heart attack as threatened.) She followed her husband on his military assignments throughout the war, winding up in Los Angeles at the war's end. They moved to Santa Cruz upon her husband's discharge in 1946 and started Morgan's Nursery on West Cliff Drive, which they sold in 1954. Betty subsequently worked as church secretary at First Congregational Church, where she was greatly involved in the cleanup from the 1955 flood, the construction of the new church campus on High Street in 1959, and (with Clarence Robinson) the editing and publication of the history of the First Congregational Church, "A Century of Christian Witness." In 1960, she became the church's stewardship secretary, a position she held until joining the staff of the new UCSC campus in 1966. She held several positions at UCSC, including Campus Equipment Coordinator and a senior Administrative Assistant for Physical Planning, with involvement in all campus construction activities from 1966 until her retirement in 1991. The day after she retired from UCSC in 1991 (at age 71), she began an 18 year run managing the local law office of her son, Timothy J. Morgan. Always devoted to her family, her hobbies included gardening, driving (at age 84 she made a solo cross-country trip visiting friends and relatives), and her grand children. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 28, at Santa Cruz Memorial, Mission Chapel, 1927 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, at 3:00 PM. Betty's daughter, Rev. Penelope Swartz, will officiate. The family will receive visitors one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent in her name to the Monterey Bay Area Boy Scouts, 55 East San Joaquin St., Salinas, CA 93901.