Ralph E. Morgan

WASHINGTON?Ralph E. Morgan, 80, of Washington, passed away at 1:10 a.m., Sunday, February 24, 2013 at Rosewood Care Center in East Peoria. Ralph was born on March 5, 1923 in Island Grove Township to Joseph "Frank" and Vivian "Irene" Kinnerman Morgan. Ralph married Barbara A. Strakowski in Zeigler, Illinois on August 4, 1956. Barbara died on November 7, 1999 in Washington. Among those surviving are two daughters, Jean (Dale) Null of Zeigler and Tina (Cameron) Skobel of St. Louis, Missouri; one son, Michael (Gwen) Morgan of Peoria; one sister, Janetta Dehnbostel of Eureka; one daughter-in-law, April Morgan of Washington; eleven grandchildren; two step grandchildren and eleven step great grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his youngest son, John C. Morgan who died on January 22, 2008 and his brother, Sherwin Morgan. Ralph was a veteran of the Korean War and had served in the U.S. Navy. He was retired from Metropolitan Insurance Company where he had worked as an agent in the Washington area for 35 years. Prior to working for Metropolitan, Ralph worked for his father doing road construction in Southern Illinois. Ralph was of the Baptist faith and was a member of the First Baptist Church in Washington. Ralph enjoyed working on cars in his spare time, especially loving old classic cars like his 38 Chevrolet and he also once owned a 55 Chevy. He also loved to fish and was a member of the Washington 12th man organization. A ceremony to celebrate Ralph?s life will be held on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 7 p.m. at Mason-White Funeral Home in Washington. Visitation will be two hours prior to the service at the funeral home. Further visitation will be on Wednesday from 2 to 3:30 at Vantrease Funeral Home in Zeigler followed by burial in the Zeigler Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the Parkinson Foundation.