My Grandfather

PATRICK NICHOLAS MORGAN, 88, of Houston, died Friday, May 12, 2006, at his home in the company of his family. Pat was born on December 17, 1917, in Lackawanna, NY, the eldest son of Saverio and Maria Morgan who emigrated from Italy at the turn of the 20th century. Pat was a proud graduate of the University of Alabama, Class of 1939, with a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. He was an avid, lifelong fan of the Crimson Tide. In his job with the Tennessee Valley Authority, he met his future wife, the former Helen Rockwell. Following their marriage on June 9, 1942, he served as an officer with the U.S. Navy Seabees during WWII in the 5th and 143rd Battalions in the southwest Pacific. Throughout the 1940's and 1950's, Pat's sales career took him to Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Chattanooga, where he became President of First Flight Golf Co. In 1959, Pat moved to Texas at the invitation of golf pros Jimmy Demaret and Jack Burke to develop real estate surrounding a new golf club in a remote area 30 miles northwest of Houston on a little two-lane country road, FM 1960. Pat's energy and unbounded optimism were a driving force behind the success of what would eventually become the world-class Champions Golf Club and the phenomenal growth in what is now known as the 1960 area. As noted by sports writer Mickey Herskowitz in an article for the Houston Post on August 25, 1993, developing the course on Cypress Creek and the surrounding real estate "wasn't an easy sell, but the money they made went back into the club and in the `70s they rode the boom. In truth, they helped create it." Pat is preceded in death by his parents, sisters Angie and Theresa Morgan and Ann Hassett, brothers Carl, Ed and Mike Morgan, and grandson Seth Morgan. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Helen Rockwell Morgan, children and their spouses, Scott and Margaret Morgan of Houston, Beth and Drew Black of Folsom, CA, Jack and Carole Morgan of Houston, Melissa and George Tooley of Katy, sister and brother-in-law Sue and Robert Derham of Skaneateles, NY, 10 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be his eight grandsons, Daniel, Thomas, Nicholas, Andrew and Griffin Morgan, Keegan and Jared Tooley, and Morgan Black. Granddaughters Meredith Black and Kaelin Tooley will be lectors for his Rite of Christian Burial Mass. Visitation will be from 6-8 P.M., with a Rosary at 7:00 P.M Monday, May 15, 2006 at Earthman Hunter's Creek, 8303 Katy Freeway, Houston. Funeral Mass 1:30 P.M. on Tuesday at St. Cyril of Alexandria, 10503 Westheimer, Houston. Interment will take place at Memorial Oaks Cemetery. For those who so desire, memorial contributions can be made to the Mercy Home For Boys and Girls, 1140 West Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607-2980.