Barbara Jean Morgan, 92, of Cottage Grove, Ore. passed away Feb. 24, 2022. Barbara was born April 16, 1929 in Carterville, Ill. to parents Lawrence and Dimple (Burklow) Martin.
She accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at an early age and tried with some successes and some failures to live the life He wanted her to live. After living in Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, her family finally settled in Fresno, Calif. where Barbara attended Fresno High School and Fresno State College graduating with a degree in education. She taught school at various times in her life in Fresno, Florida and southern California.
She married Robert Morgan in Fresno in 1949. He served in the Air Force for four years. They then moved to southern California where Robert served in the Los Angeles Police Department for 25 years.
Barbara loved music of many kinds, especially religious music sung by big wonderful choirs. She also appreciated classical, “cool Jazz” and melodic pop music. She sang in high school, college and church choirs and was a church, wedding and funeral soloist.
She loved children and taught not only in public schools, but in church ministries for children for over 50 years. Barbara loved to read and was active in setting up a library at Riverside Community Church of God where she was a contributing member for many years. She loved being part of her church wherever she lived and was always active in the ministry. She served as Children’s Coordinator on staff at La Crescenta First Baptist Church. At Riverside Community Church of God, she was able to enjoy working in children’s and music ministries. She delighted in planning and leading Vacation Bible School for many years, and in her seventies and on into her eighties she produced a monthly church newsletter and learned how to use a computer to produce it on. At that time, she shifted from teaching children to facilitating an adult Bible study.
Barbara also loved traveling and camping in many of the wonderful state and national parks. She rejoiced in the animals, birds and other wildlife. She was so happy to retire to her cozy log cabin in the woods on adjoining properties with her daughter Christa and son-in-law Mike. She was blessed by the wonderful care they provided as she aged. She loved her friends and nurtured friendships right up until her death. She really liked to make people laugh. She loved God and was never happier than when she was in His service.
Barbara is survived by her children Christa (Mike) Proffitt of Cottage Grove, Ore.; Marcella (Blane Suganuma) Morgan of Mountain View, Hawaii; Jim (Marna Anderson) Morgan of Minneapolis, Minn.; five grandchildren, Allison (Josh) Watson, Matt (Carol) Proffitt, Ian Proffitt, Morgan (Brent) Neely and Evelyn Rose Morgan Anderson. Her great-grandchildren continued to bless her life: Joshua and John (Nina) Watson, Isaac, Liam, Ezekiel, Zebedee and Lizabeth Proffitt, Philip, Eli, Gabriel, Rebekah, James, and Silas Neely. She is also survived by sister-in-law, Beverly Quesinberry and family. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband Robert. There will be a memorial service held at a later date. Arrangements by Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel and Crematorium.
