William James "Jay" Morgan

William James “Jay” Morgan passed away peacefully on 12/10/2023 under Hospice care at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, NC.

He is preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Minnetta Hart Morgan, his parents Phi Lastas “PL” and Lottie Lee Morgan, his brothers Sam and Buddy, and his sister Charlotte.

He is survived by his daughter Denise and her husband Harry of Angier, his sister Mary Williams of Angier, and many nieces and nephews.

He grew up in Angier, NC and after graduating from Angier High School, he joined the U. S. Marine Corp and did basic training at Parris Island, SC. Then he was assigned aircraft carrier duty on the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his tour of duty included the Mediterranean.

When he and Minnetta had a child, he elected to end his military career. He came home and worked for Peden Steel Company in Raleigh, NC until he joined other family members in forming a landscaping business: Angier Evergreen Nursery. Not really a plant person, he enjoyed working on the machinery and trucks.

He was also active at Angier Baptist Church and for a while he ran the Sunday morning sound system.

In the 1980s he and Minnetta took square dancing lessons and thoroughly enjoyed it. Eventually Jay learned to be a square dance caller, i.e., the person who stands up with a microphone in front of a crowd of square dancers and sings out the dance moves. At one point, he and Minnetta square danced four nights a week, and he was the caller for several clubs. He even recorded some square dance records in the old 45 format. It was routine to see them packing up the RV to set off for a weekend of dancing. This hobby kept them young and made them a lot of dear and lifelong friends.

His last days were very peaceful, and for that the family acknowledges the incredible care Jay received from Rex MSICU, the 5th floor East, and Hospice.

A celebration of Jay's life will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, February 24th in the chapel of Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, Angier.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to Angier Baptist Church, P.O. Box 130, Angier, NC 27501.