William E. Morgan

William E. Morgan passed away suddenly on March 30, 2016 at the age of 78 years old in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Bill was born February 21, 1938 in Billings, Montana. He played baseball and basketball while growing up on Beverly Hills Drive in Billings, and graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1956. He earned his B.A. degree in Economics from University of Colorado, Boulder in 1960 and earned his Ph.D. degree in Economics from the same university in 1964. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at CU, where friendships with many of his brothers began and lasted a lifetime. In 1962, he married Linda Edwards in Reno, Nevada. After graduate school, he worked for the U.S. State Department in Ankara, Turkey and Washington, D.C. He and Linda greatly enjoyed traveling during the two years that they lived in Turkey, visiting dozens of countries throughout Europe and the Middle East. Of special note was their time spent in Italy, Austria, Lebanon, Israel, Istanbul and Greece. In 1967, the Morgans welcomed their newborn son, Carter, and one year later they moved west from Washington to Laramie. Bill became Professor of Economics at the University of Wyoming, a position that he held until his retirement in 2002. Bill was a distinguished teacher with an active research program throughout his tenure in the economics department at UW. He was particularly interested in state and local tax issues within the field of public finance, and published widely read articles in leading journals. His expertise in state and local finance attracted the attention of Governor Herschler, who appointed him to the State of Wyoming Consensus Revenue Estimating Committee in 1983. Bill served on this committee for twenty years. In 1975, the Morgan’s family of four was completed when their daughter, Christina, was born at Ivinson Hospital in Laramie. In 1977, Bill and his family took a sabbatical to the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla. Perhaps Bill's most enduring professional contributions came through his leadership in the UW economic department. He served as department chair from 1972-1979. During his tenure in this position he transformed the department into a world-class center in environmental and resource economics. The department continues to hold this distinguished reputation to this day. Morgan built the graduate program through his efforts as director of graduate studies between 1984-1999. Soon after his retirement from UW, the William E Morgan Graduate Award was endowed in his name. The scholarship annually goes to the top graduate student(s) exhibiting excellence in academics and leadership in the Department of Economics and Finance at UW. It is considered the department’s highest possible award. After his retirement in 2002, he and Linda enjoyed spending their summers in Laramie and winters on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California. In 2008, Linda was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Bill dedicated himself to providing her with the best care possible, and did most of the work himself so that she be able to stay at home in Laramie with him rather than be moved to a care facility. His passions in life were his family, enjoying his work at UW and cheering on the Wyoming Cowboys, Denver Broncos and San Francisco Giants. He was able to enjoy five championships between these teams the last few years of his life. His smile, wit, intellect, sense of humor, honesty, kindness, love and advice will all be missed greatly. He loved the Great State of Wyoming, and enjoyed residing in Laramie for the past 48 years. His hobbies included gardening, walking the dogs and playing golf with his kids at Jacoby Golf Course. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Ruth, and his sister, Elizabeth. He is survived by his wife Linda, his son Carter, his daughter Chris, and his grandsons, Cole (12) and Caden (6). A celebration of Bill’s remarkable life will be held at the Wildcatter Club at the University of Wyoming War Memorial Stadium from 2-6pm on June 11, 2016. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the William E. Morgan Graduate Award through the UW College of Business. 307-766-4194 or http://www.uwyo.edu/foundation/. Please visit bohlenderfuneralchapel.com to send the family online condolences.

Tributes

William E. Morgan

February 21, 1938 - March 30, 2016