Richard Morgan

Asheville – Richard Levi Morgan, 86, passed away on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at Givens Estates Heath Center after a long struggle with multiple sclerosis.

Richard was born on March 13, 1932, in Clyde NC, a son of the late Levi Smathers Morgan and Willie Rogers Morgan. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Roger E. Morgan, and his sister, Joanne Morgan.

Richard was a United States Navy veteran having served during the era of the Korean Conflict and Suez Crisis; he served aboard the U.S.S. Coral Sea and the U.S.S. Randall. In 1961, Richard was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and began working at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem as an engineer. He worked at R.J. Reynolds for 26 years; fifteen of those years as the Director of Quality Assurance, first at RJR Foods, Inc. and then at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

He is fondly remembered for his faith, his sense of humor, his wide-ranging creativity and his ability to repair anything. He was happiest improvising a last-minute costume for a school program, or reaching from underneath his car for a wrench delivered by one of his sons.

Surviving are his wife, Mary Jo Cole Morgan, and three sons, Van Morgan, and wife Kirsten Van Vlandren, of Phoenixville, PA; Honorable Eric Morgan, and wife Dawn Morgan, of Kernersville, NC; and Dr. Alan Morgan, and wife Kristen Morgan of Asheville, NC. Also surviving are his five grandchildren: John Morgan, Gwyneth Turner, Matthew Morgan, Sarah Morgan, and Nate Morgan.

A visitation will be held from 1:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at Wells Funeral Home in Canton, NC with a private graveside service to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the cemetery care fund at Snow Hill United Methodist Church, 84 Snow Hill Church Rd, Candler, NC 28715, or to the research fund of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The care of Mr. Morgan has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Homes and an online memorial register is available at “Obituaries” at www.wellsfuneralhome.com