By
LEON FRANK MORGAN
Born: October 25th, 1924
Died: May 20th, 2016
Obituary
Leon "Frank" Morgan was born in Evergreen, North Carolina October 25, 1924 to Shep Hinson Morgan and Mantha Etta (Small) Morgan. He was the 7th of 9 siblings. He left his home in Rocky Mount North Carolina and enlisted in the Marines in Norfork Virginia in March of 1943 at the age of 18.
He served his country in the Pacific theater where he laid down the communication lines that allowed ground, ship board and air born forces to coordinate offensive & defensive strategies and campaigns. After the war he served in China as part of the re-patriotization of the Japanese POWs. After discharge he enrolled in University of North Carolina and completed his degree in Mathematics.
His service to his country continued as a member of the development team on the Saturn rocket program and followed by multiple military aerospace programs. He worked for Lockheed for 35 years where he was instrumental in the development of very early software for use in military aircraft. When President Nixon invited him to be a member of his cabinet he respectfully declined because he felt his greatest worth to his country was in development of the technical aspects of space and defense programs. He continued this work as part of Lockheed's shuttle proposal team, as well as, P3 Orion submarine tracker plane, the stealth fighter & bomber projects. At the time of his retirement he was the director of Advanced Avionics at the Skunkworks facility in California.
In retirement he designed and built his dream home in Placerita Canyon in Newhall California. He loved his Morgan’s Mini Ranch and continued to live a full and productive life. He developed a “Plain Language Model of the Universe”, a Treatise on Government, and a collection of Prose and Poetry. He remained busy and productive even as his mind succumbed to Alzheimer’s.
In his final years the things he remembered and shared, with great vigor if not always great joy, were his role as a member of the tremendous Morgan family, his time as a WWII ‘China’ Marine, his role in developing cutting edge technology in the aerospace programs, his roles as husband, father and grandfather, and his ranch house and property and the amazing opportunities he experienced during his life. stayed connected with his extended family his entire life and shared stories of his amazing life and family until he passed on May 20th 2016 at home with family at his side.
He is survived by his sister Peggy Finlay, 5 children: Gail Oliphant, Mark Morgan, Peter Morgan, Christopher Morgan, Kenneth Morgan, his wife Peggy; his 9 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and: enumerable extended family.