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Dr. Monroe Talton (M.T.) Morgan, Sr. passed away Thursday, October 15, 2020.
Dr. Morgan was born in Mars Hill, NC on June 29, 1933 and was a son of the late Frank W. and Effie McDaris. He graduated from Marshal High School in 1952. He had lived in Carter County since 1963.
He received an Associate Degree from Mars Hill College, Bachelor Degree from East Tennessee State College, Master of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina and Doctor of Public Health from Tulane University. He served four years in the United States Air Force and was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.
Dr. Morgan was employed at East Tennessee State University from 1963 until he retired in 1999. He was the founding professor and Chairman of the Department of Environmental Health. He developed the first Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health (BSEH) and Master of Science in Environmental Health (MSEH) degrees to be professionally accredited in the United States. He was very proud of the fact that he recruited students from 56 countries, most of the 50 states and Native American tribes. He also developed contracts to recruit U.S. Army students to receive BSEH degrees allowing many U.S. Army Health Science officers to be ETSU graduates.
Dr. Morgan served as president of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) from which he later received their Outstanding Leadership Award. He was a recipient of the Walter S. Mangold award, and NEH’s outstanding Environmentalist award in 1978. Other honors include: ETSU’s Distinguished Faculty Award, and Jacob C. Geiger Award from Tulane University for best doctoral dissertation.
Dr. Morgan served as consultant to several organizations including: The National Academy of Science, the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association, the Agency for International Development, the Caribbean Community and the World Health Organization. He was also consultant to several universities to help develop Environmental Health Departments.
For several years, he served as a member of the Public Health Review Committee of the National Institute of Health to site visit the schools of Public Health to determine qualification for Public Health Trainerships and special project grants. He also served on the Committee for Study need to reorganize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which enable the EPA to better meet the needs of the U.S. for environmental protection. He presented research and position papers at many local, state, national and international organizations. He was especially proud of the following presentations: the Model Environmental Health Degree presented to the Public Health Review Committee of the National Institutes of Health; the Role of Environmental Health in the Health Care System presented to the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland; and the Role of Environmental Health at the World Inaugural Conference of Environmental Health in Sydney, Australia.
He was the author of the textbook, “Environmental Health”, which was used as support text at several universities in the U.S. and foreign countries. After his retirement, ETSU established the Dr. M.T. Morgan Scholarship in his honor for undergraduate Environmental Health Majors.
Dr. Morgan had been retired almost 20 years and during that period of time he has been an Environmental Health Consultant to the Jimmy Carter Center, U.S. Aid and to the Agency for the International Development Public Health Service. He has enjoyed traveling, spending time with family and friends and attending Central Community Christian Church.
Dr. Morgan was preceded in death by his father, Rev. Frank W. Morgan, Sr.; mother, Effie McDaris Morgan; brothers, Coy B. Morgan (Hattie), Wayne Morgan, Dr. Joe L. Morgan and Leonard Morgan; sister, Myrtle Morgan Paulson; and two brothers-in-law, Robert J. Rice and Jack L. Peoples.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Shirley Lewis Morgan; sons Monroe Talton Morgan, Jr. (Monte), Marcus Thomas Morgan of Huntsville, AL; two granddaughters, Natasha Arizona Morgan and Brooke Arianna Morgan of League City, TX; one brother, Frank W. Morgan, Jr.; three sisters, Marie Morgan Rice of Charlotte, NC; Ruth Morgan Peoples of Winston-Salem, NC; Janette Morgan Fisher (Jerald) of Marshall, NC. Also surviving are two brothers-in-law, Billy Joe Lewis (Anne Todd); Stanley Thomas Lewis (Brenda English); five nieces, Debbie Little, Daris Murray, Annette Fisher, Gwyneth Peck and Catherine Theobold; eight nephews, Mark Morgan, Doug Morgan, David Morgan, Steve Morgan, Russel Morgan, Shane Lewis, Michael Lewis and Dewayne Fisher.
The family of Dr. Morgan will have a graveside and committal service at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, at Mars Hill Cemetery, 123 Calvin Edney Road, Mars Hill, NC, 28754 with Dr. Edwin Lewis officiating. Music will be under the direction of Reverend Todd Wolfe and Susie Wolfe of Central Community Christian Church. Family and friends are asked to gather at the cemetery at 12:45 p.m. Everyone attending is asked to wear your facial masks and honor social distancing guidelines. Active pallbearers will be Mike Lewis, Shane Lewis, Dewayne Fisher, Clint Hoilman, Bryan Hoilman, Monte Morgan and Marcus Morgan. Honorary pallbearers will be the associates of the ETSU Department of Environmental Health, Dean Randy Wycoff, Dr. Bob Patton, Dr. Wilsie Bishop and lifetime friend, Lawrence Ponder of Marshall, N.C. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the ETSU Dr. M.T. Morgan, Sr. Scholarship for Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Health, P.O. BOX 70682, Johnson City, TN 37614. Online condolences may be shared with the family and viewed on our website at www.hathawaypercy.com.
Hathaway-Percy Funeral and Cremation Services are honored to serve the Morgan family.