Harry Morgan had deep roots in Sanford, a tiny town in southwestern Colorado where he lived 98 of his 101 years.
His parents, George and Laura Morgan, and two of George Morgan’s brothers, John Morgan and Tom Morgan, had been sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City to settle the area in the mid- 1880s. They made the four-day trip in a covered wagon.
Harry Morgan, who died Feb. 8 at his home in Sanford, was a longtime sheep rancher and farmer in the San Luis Valley. In later life, he kept busy in his vegetable and flower gardens, tying quilts (34 of them) for family members and working on genealogy at the Mormon Church.
He continued both pursuits even when he had to use a wheelchair.
“He always had to be busy,” said his grandson Scott Morgan.
When asked how he had lived so long, Morgan said it was probably “because I’m so ornery.”
But Scott Morgan said he had never seen his grandfather angry. “He just didn’t let things bother him,” he said.
Harry Morgan had such a hearty laugh, “you’d have thought it was coming all the way up from his toes,” said his daughter-in-law Nancy Morgan.
Harry Morgan didn’t drink coffee or alcohol and never smoked, but he loved to dance, usually at country dances.
He was a regular at church, and his neighbors, many of whom called him “Uncle Harry,” waved as they saw him rolling down the road in his wheelchair each Sunday.
He served an extended time as mayor of Sanford and 19 years on the school board, as well as in several positions in the Mormon Church.
Harry Golden Morgan was born Feb. 4, 1905, on the Hamilton Ranch near La Isla, 3 miles east of Antonito. The family moved to nearby Sanford when he was 3.
The 6-foot, 2-inch Morgan excelled in basketball and played with the Sanford Giants until he was almost 40, said his daughter-in-law. He coached the team during World War II.
The Giants gained a reputation for winning games against southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico teams.
Morgan married Emma June Smith in 1926, a marriage that lasted 66 years. In 1992 after his first wife’s death, he married Mary Morgan, the widow of his brother, W.R. Morgan. She survives him.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at vculver@denverpost.com or 303-820-1223.
