Barbara Jean Morgan

Barbara E. Morgan passed away peacefully on April 9, 2021. She is survived by her two sons, Jay and Ted, and seven grandchildren whom she loved dearly; as well as her brother, Griff Ethridge, and her sister and best friend, Yvonne E. Woods. She was preceded in death by her husband, J. Leonard Morgan, Jr., and her middle son, George Wesley.

Born in southwest Georgia to G. Griff and Nellie Ethridge, she was the oldest of three children. She loved basketball and her tall frame and competitive spirit made her a force on the court in high school. She later attended Georgia Southwestern College in Americus where she met her husband in 1956. They married a year later, in August, 1957, in Leslie, Georgia. She and Leonard, Jr. settled in Talbotton, Georgia, where they raised their family. Over the course of those same years, she was her husband’s confidante in all matters of the business. Always impeccably dressed, she worked by his side for many years as he grew Morgan Oil Company’s reach across multiple counties in middle Georgia.

While all her sons attended and eventually graduated from Brookstone School in Columbus, she served in a number of volunteer leadership roles including president of the parents’ organization and as a parent representative to the Board of Trustees. Later, when she and her husband, Leonard, relocated to Columbus, she took great joy in attending many cultural events and remained loyal to her book club and the friends she made there.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be directed to the Talbotton Baptist Church, P.O. Box 66, Talbotton, Georgia 31827. Out of respect to family friends and their loved ones, there will be a private burial and celebration of her life at graveside at Park Hill Cemetery in Columbus.