About 400 of Jim Morgan’s friends — from rock musicians to government workers — gathered at a fundraiser Oct. 10 to help pay for his medical expenses and equipment.
Morgan retired in January from his job as chief building inspector for the city and county of Denver after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS — a fatal neuromuscular disorder.
“It was the happiest I’ve seen him in a year and a half,” said his sister, Julia Morgan. “He was thrilled. He said he must have gotten a thousand kisses.”
When he wasn’t working, Morgan, a talented musician, was jamming on his guitar.
But in July 2009, after he’d performed with his band at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, he started slurring his words. His family, thinking he’d had a stroke, rushed him to the emergency room. After a long series of tests, he was diagnosed with ALS.
The disease progressed rapidly. He is now in a wheelchair and has almost lost his ability to talk, so the show of support invigorated his spirit.
“He had a lot of friends, both inside the department, and the outside contractors,” said Jim Valdez, chief mechanical inspector for Denver. “A lot of contractors can’t stand building inspectors, but he had a lot of contractor friends. They’d all come listen to him play.”
Morgan had been part of a Denver band called The Receders for 20 years, playing regularly at places such as Q’s Pub and Grill. The band organized the fundraiser.
“It’s quite a costly disease, with everything needed to keep him going,” said band member Mike Degn.
As a teenager at North High School in the mid-1960s, Morgan continually riffed on tunes. His first band, Voices of the Mute, included his Denver friend Jerry Corbetta, who later formed the group Sugarloaf. But Morgan focused on family, marrying, then having three children, supporting them with his city job.
Of all the losses that come with ALS, perhaps the most difficult for Morgan was the music.
“Probably the most devastating physical symptom so far has been his inability to play the guitar,” Julia said. “He played it daily, since he was a teenager.”
Valdez remembers how he’d bring his guitar to work. “He’d jam at lunch, and leave work with his guitar in the back of his van,” he said.
Valdez and his co-workers showed up at Morgan’s house early one morning to build ramps for his wheelchair using materials they’d bought with money collected around the office.
“I just feel terrible he’s not at work anymore,” said Valdez. “Me and him were pretty tight.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
To donate, contact any Key Bank and ask to donate to the account of Jimmie D. Morgan.
