Memorial letter written by Charlie Wooten (Captain Bligh).

Two score and 7 years ago (for all you Aggies that is 47 years) a perfect storm of diverse personalities, unique individuals, and characters of every sort gathered upon and in a Den of Iniquity know as the Midnighter Apartments here in Austin while most of us “sometimes” attended UT.

There was a Leprechaun, An Adonis, A Grog, A Sherlock, A Shepherd, A King, A Don, A Captain Bligh, A Shag Nasty who was a Chick Magnet for his Daddy Bruce, An Anarchist, A Fig Newton, The Horse, Big Ed, an old man named Connie, A Mother Superior, and Casper from Jasper, the Space Ghost and forever known to me as Elwood- Ellis Frank Morgan- my best lifelong friend.

This group of friends has remained close all of these years.  This group of seemingly aimless, fun seekers matured into mostly highly successful and productive Americans and 1 Canadian.

Ellis and I especially shared our basic core principles of country (He was a true patriot.), family and friends and God.  We lived/live by these always.

I promised Ellis shortly after he graduated UT that if he ever found a female type woman that would marry him, that no matter where he was in the world I would be at his wedding.  The year was our Bicentennial ( Again, for you Aggies 1976) my wife and I went to Alexandria ,VA to meet this young lady Ellis was absolutely head over heels in love with.  Casper from Jasper had hit the Mother Load. The Space Ghost hit the Lottery!

Caroline was/is very pretty, extremely smart, well educated, well read, well traveled and cultural.  Elwood was marrying way above himself.  Only problem was a cultural one- she’s a Damned Yankee!

I was honored to be Ellis’s Best Man and to meet the Kendall family.  The family felt invaded by the 2 Texans.  Mrs. Kendall did not know/understand what we were saying and she did not realize Texan was a foreign language in Reading, PA.  I, on the other hand, had never been in a home where the brightest light bulb was a 40 watter and the only spice was small shaker of salt, and the refrigerator was a 1946 Frigidaire. (See photo above)

Ellis, being the smart man he was, had Caroline agree that after they married they would move to Texas.  After their honeymoon, we had a large Texas wedding reception at our home in Grand Prairie.  We greeted their plane at the DFW gate.  We all walked out into Texas in August.  All Caroline could muster was AWUAGH- it was 113 degrees!   WELCOME TO TEXAS AND TEXANS!  She has stayed.  THANK YOU!!

Ellis was very successful in many areas of endeavor in life.  A man of many and varied talents and interests.  However, he realized and valued above all else his marriage and his children. His 3 greatest joys, achievements, and loss in life are his children.  Their growth, education, achievement and happiness were always the driving force for Ellis.  The best example of this to me was when Katie was graduating Westlake High School and her dance group’s biggest event for seniors was a formal gala, highlighted by a Father/Daughter Dance Duo. Ellis was many things but he was NOT  Fred Astaire or Patrick Swayze.  But he was determined not to embarrass his daughter and maybe even be semi good.  Ellis practiced, rehearsed and I can’t tell you how many anxiety filled phone calls to me about what he should do.  Needless to say, Ellis and Katie shone like stars in their dance and Ellis was so, so proud for her.  One of their greatest photos is from that night and shows a handsome, beaming father with his beautiful daughter. Please take time to admire that photo.

I would like to thank and express my admiration to Caroline, Ellis K and Katie on behalf of all of us and especially for Ellis for all of the love, caring, understanding and sacrifice they have shown their husband and father the last 2+ years, especially the last 18 months.  It is a remarkable testimony to Ellis on how to love and respect a loved one.

Ellis and I shared our lives, our secrets, our families, everything true friends are able to do.  THANK YOU ELLIS, MY TRUE FRIEND.   Jesus has prepared a place for us and as He has promised when we are absent of the body we are with Him and God in Heaven.

SEE YOU THERE MY FRIEND!  

HOOK ‘EM!

Memorial letter written by Katie Morgan.

To say I was blessed does not begin to describe how lucky I was to have had such an amazing Dad. He never missed a single dance recital, camping trip, or graduation. He was one of my favorite teachers, from math homework to sharing his insight into the world’s greatest quandaries. He always knew how to make me feel special because I was Daddy’s little girl.

As a little girl, Dad and I had our own nightly rituals. After dinner, we would each have our own bowl of ice cream with the hard shell chocolate and granola on top; of which I just came to find out Mom never knew about. Then when he would walk me to bed we would stop in front of my room and look at the three pictures of the boys and me. He would always point to my picture and tell me that was him when he was little. While we do share the same complexion and look a lot alike, to my distain he would never give in and admit that it wasn’t a picture of him, but of me. Once I was over my frustration he would tuck me into bed and read me a book of my choosing, typically Bernstein Bears.

As Dad’s only daughter my activities often took him out of his comfort zone. Those who knew my father, knew he was not fond of camping, but that did not deter him from joining the Girl Scout backpacking adventures. Even when we were eating “mechanically separated chicken” from a can in Big Ben, he never fussed even though I know he was dreaming a nice steak and clean shower. I even had him showing off his best dance moves in the Hyline Senior’s Father Daughter dance. (Photo above from Hyline's "My Favorite Man" Banquet, where he showed off some of his killer dance moves!)

When I look back on my father’s life, I have to smile because there was no lack of laughter or love. There are no words to describe how much I will miss him, and I will forever cherish the memories I have with him.

Dad, I will always love you. I know you and Danny will be watching down on us.

Forever Daddy's little girl.

Love,

Katie

Memorial letter written by Ellis Kendall Morgan.

When people ask me about my father, I find it difficult to describe who he was, because there are so many words to describe him. Over the years, I’ve been told countless times how lucky I was to have such a great dad.

Those that knew him well always had a smile on their face and usually a laugh or two when they talked about one of the many stories or escapades they shared together.

Growing up, vacations were always a source of memories. One of my earliest memories was riding in a playpen in the back of one of his airplanes, the Grumman Tiger, usually heading to or from the mountains or the beach, and a few years later, I remember sitting on his lap in the airplane as a child. Sometimes, he let me take the controls for a little while.. In later years he told me that the autopilot was actually on most of the time while I was flying.

The annual ski trip each year was always fun. My dad, often skiing with a video camera over his shoulder, sporting a ski vest, and had icicles hanging from his mustache. He also loved the Nastar ski races, and would proudly wear his silver metals around afterwards. Time spent after skiing was always somewhat of a party for all of us, where we spent hours reminiscing about the day, and laughing by the fire at the cabin. 

One ski trip in particular comes to mind, where there was a long list of travel issues, involving a blizzard, and car trouble. However, he always found a way to turn a mishap into a humorous situation. By the end of that trip he said he had enough material to write the script for the next National Lampoons Vacation, one of his favorites movies.

Fourth of July was always a family affair. We would load up the pontoon boat with people, and attempt to deliver an onslaught of water balloons to any boat that got within throwing distance.  As I recall, I think we were also somewhat responsible for the banning of water balloon wingers on lake Austin that year.

During college football season, our house was a very noisy place. Where a UT touchdown resulted in yelling and screams of joy from him and his friends, who were somewhat quarantined to one end of the house, in order to maintain a bit of sanity for those not watching the game.

I also remember the countless hours that he spent in his office at his computer, working long hours and sometimes working into the night to finish a project and meet a deadline for his business, and it always amazed me how he persevered in his work.

There are many words that can be used to describe my father. He was kind, funny, witty and smart. He was sincere, honest, and loyal. He was a hard worker. He was a good friend. He was a partier and bar-b-q extraordinaire. He was a storyteller. He was adventurous, brave, and at times fearless. He was a family man and devoted father who always put others before himself and would have given anything to the people that he cared about. He had a huge heart. He was also my friend, my father, and he will forever be my hero.

Memorial letter written by Caroline Morgan.

I met him in the fall of 1973 in Washington, DC. Area.  He lived in old town Alexandria, and I lived just over the line in Fairfax, Virginia.  We met at a party at his apartment complex.  My friend and I saw these two older men at the other side of the room.  I told my friend, let’s move to that side and see if we can attract them. We moved and smiled at them and they came over.  I was attracted to the one with the bright blue eyes. Later that night he invited me to join him the next day to his companies bowling party at the pizza joint.  I didn’t know that night that this was the beginning of my ride.

My third date with him was quite unusual.  He asked me out for dinner and a movie, but also asked if he could come over earlier to see something on TV before our date.  I thought it was unusual, but agreed.  Well, he arrives in these ugly orange socks, a poster in his hand and a six-pack of beer.  He proceeds to empty my small dining room table and rolls out a poster of some orange tower. He puts a beer at each corner to hold the poster down.  Then he tries to get some football game on the TV.  When he could not find it, he becomes agitated.  My roommate who was going to go shopping decided to stay for my safety.  In the end he explains to me that he was trying to find the UT football game on TV, that those socks were not orange but burnt orange and that was the UT tower.  That was the beginning of my journey of learning how much he loved his university.

As our relationship progressed, we introduced to each other new interests.  I took him to art museums and he took me to air shows. I joined his bowling team and he joined my group of friends who liked to ski.  He instantly got hooked to the sport. We join a group of friends that were renting an old farmhouse in Blue Knob, Pa. I assumed we would go once a month, but he wanted to go every weekend so he could improve his skiing ability. One of those weekends he decides to Nastar  Race.. I have already run my race and got a bronze.  It was now his turn to race. He looks at the racecourse with his engineering mind and sees that he really doesn’t have to go around the poles, but straight through them. He got a gold. He was so proud of himself. He acted as a puffed up male peacock, strutting around with his gold medal on his jacket.

In 1976 after almost three years of dating, he asks me some questions.  First, would I be willing to live in Texas. I said yes. Second, he told me he wanted a son and that he wanted to name him Ellis.   Would I agree and I did, even thou in my mind I thought that might be foolish because there is no guaranteed in having boys. Lastly, I would always help him with his mother who had been very kind to him. I said, yes.  He proposed to me just before we caught a ski bus to Killington, Vermont.

We got married in Reading, Pa. in 1976.  We had a wedding reception in Reading, Pa. and a party in Dallas to meet his friends. When I arrived in Dallas it was 110 degrees. The hot air hits my face when I get off the plane.  Now I start regretting saying yes to my first question. He had taken me to a land of heat where I thought I might be cooked and broiled. Then I met his college friends at the party. They were insane, crazy and nuts.  One even told me he was a leprechaun- five feet tall, had some gold dust in his pocket and a magic feather. Later in life I fell in love with their individual personalities and antics.  They became the best friends you could ever have.

One month later after our marriage, we move to Texas. He gets a job with Atlanta Research in San Antonio, TX to do finite element on off shore rig platforms. After moving there, we start driving to Austin for the UT games. Once again I am soon going to have another cultural shock. I walk into this stadium and see this sea of burnt orange. People are yelling TX fight and what ever else they wanted to yell. The first game we went to so happened to be the University of Virginia, my graduate school. University of Virginia has a walk on team. Why were they playing a national team. When the score got to be 90 to 0, UT puts in their third string.  University of Va. Finely starts moving the ball down the field.  I stand up and yell Wahoo, the Va. yell. His friends start laughing so hard I thought some might fall out of the upper deck. At that time I never thought I would ever love UT football, but now I am one of those crazy sports fan yelling as hard as the rest with Ellis.

In 1978 our son Ellis was born. I thought to myself, my second promise has been answered.  Why did I have dreams of having five girls? In 1979 we moved to Austin- his life’s dream to work and live in Austin.  He got a job with Tracor to do counter measures. This job lasted just two years when he tells me he wants to start his own company. He starts Structural Analysis, Inc. and develops MTAB Stress software. He was so driven at this time. He would get up in the middle of the night and drive to his office and write finite element software programs.  These were his productive years.  In 1994 he sells it and just does consulting.

Back to 1978, Ellis wanted to get his private pilot license.  He had always wanted to be an astronaut, but becoming a pilot would be acceptable.  He took lessons and got his license fairly quickly.  We started taking short trips.  I had to have a pile of maps on my lap.  Find the train tracks down there.  Look for that crossroad. We would bounce along in the hot summer heat because he did not have his instrument license. Later this journey of owning a plane has taken us to joining a flying club that gave us a chance to fly over Cuba to Grand Cayman, fly to Cabo San Lucas, over the Rocky Mountains to our cabin in Gunnison, Colorado many a time and many other places in the US.  His flying has taken us thru storms, icing conditions, turbulence that you felt you were in a washing machine. He loved ever minute of it.  We sold the plane last year and I know my fingernail prints are in the armrests.

Another mutual interest we had was traveling.  He had grown up moving many times as a child because his dad was an engineer who built.  They would move from project to project.  One year they went to Iraq. His father was building a dam in the Northern part of the Kurdish area. He loved it there because he could ride horses in the mountains and not do much school work. He lost a year of school because of that, so his parents sent him to the American Community School in Beirut.  This school was a blessing because his math teacher told him how gifted he was in physics. No teacher had told him this before. This helped him figure out what he wanted to do in life in the field of science and the experience of living in Beirut gave him the knowledge that he always wanted to travel. Our whole family has been on many cruises with friends from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean, Baltic, and the Aegean Sea. I am now so glad we started many years ago.

To finally close, I want to say that he had a shorter life than he wanted, but it was a full life. He got in most of what he wanted to do, had a great family, friends and relatives.

I also want to thank a few people personally who got me thru the last few years of our journey with Ellis.  When your love one is diagnosed with dementia, you want to keep it quiet so they can keep their dignity. The caretaker usually let’s a few people into the true life.

The ones that helped me stay sane are- Jeanne Malkani-who I could visit as often as I wanted and she would listen and comfort me, Sarah Sheads who got me out of my depression when he was in the difficult paranoid stage, Terry Barnes –my neighbor who would come and help me whenever something broke-he even would drop everything and come running to help me-, another neighbor Suzanna Sugarman who would get Ellis and say Ellis let’s walk the dogs or she would do other touching things for him, my sister in law Martha Baker who would come and spend time with her brother and this in turn would allow me to meet with friends and not worry, my brother  who gave me strength, Charlie Wooten- who helped me thru the difficult times and gave Ellis a party this memorial day weekend with his college buddies, and lastly our wonderful children-Katie and Ellis K.  They were always helping and were there till the end.

So in closing, he is up there in heaven in his ugly burnt orange socks, wearing his UT shirt and as one friend said, painting heaven burnt orange.

August 24, 1944 – July 12, 2012 

Ellis Frank Morgan passed away near his home in Westlake Hills, Texas on the 12th of July at the age of 67.

He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Caroline Morgan; son, Ellis K. Morgan; daughter, Katie Morgan; sister, Martha Ann Baker. His son, Daniel Morgan, precedes him in death. 

Although his life may have ended at an early age, he lived a very full and rich life, one that few have the opportunity to experience. His family and friends knew him for his kindness, laughter, and for his limitless repertoire of stories that everyone loved to hear.

He was very accomplished in his professional life as an engineer and known in the field for his integrity and quality of work. He graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s in Aero Space Engineering in 1968. Owned his own business Structural Analysis, Inc. for over thirty years, was self-taught in computer programing, and in 1981 he was the first engineering mathematician to bring structural finite element analysis to the personal computer, called mTab Stress software. As a consultant he worked for many companies over the years; including NASA, and the United States Military.

His college life was always a very big part of who he was and where many life long friends were made. He was a die-hard UT college football fan, you could say he bled burnt orange, and rarely missed a tailgate or a game. Till his very last days he was rarely seen not wearing his college ring and a Longhorn T-shirt.

Over the course of his life his travels took him near and far. During his adolescence he lived in Baghdad, Iraq and Beirut, Lebanon while his father, Ellis Hamilton Morgan, worked as an a civil engineer building damns. He was a devoted son to his mother, Martha Morgan, who was ever present in the home and who’s southern cooking was his favorite.

Flying was always a very big part of his life, and owning several airplanes over the years. Family trips were always more interesting, and sometimes scary, but always adventurous and out of the ordinary with the family and dogs often in tow. It enabled him to view the world from a different prospective that few often enjoy. As a pilot, he followed in his father’s footsteps, and passed his love of flying on to his son.

Ellis and Caroline met almost 40 years ago, while almost scaring her off with his Longhorn pride, his kind heart won her over and made her his wife. They have enjoyed spending their summers and winters skiing at their family home in Gunnison, Colorado, traveling around the world, and raising their three children together. His role as a father one was of his proudest achievements, not only to his immediate three children, but also as an uncle and cousin.

Ellis was loved and will be greatly missed by all. We know he is painting the sky burnt orange from above.