Marshall Morgan, as we knew him, was a mentor to my father and his best lifelong friend. This photograph shows him at his favorite hobby as a ham radio operator.

Mr. Morgan was born Henry Marshall Morgan in ST. LUCIA on Feb. 27, 1911, a possible descendant of Captain Henry Morgan, noted privateer and governor of Jamaica, who was well known for his love of women ;-) He died in Pickering, Ontario, CANADA, on March 19, 2008. In 1933 my grandmother, Florence Robina Johnston moved into an apartment in Toronto. One of her neighbors across the hall was Marshall Morgan and his young family. My grandmother was a widow with 3 young children. The oldest was my father, Glen Johnston. To give my grandmother some relief Marshall Morgan (he was always "Mr. Morgan" to me, but now that I am old and grey I shall take a wee bit of license as he was a very dear friend and use his first name here) would take my future father to the movies, shopping, and to the zoo. The 2 of them struck up a lifelong bond. When my Dad was in school he talked with Marshall about future jobs and which courses to take. Marshall told him that the world would always need electricians and electrical engineers. Dad took this advice to heart, and electricity became his future.

Mr. Morgan was married to Marjorie (maiden name unknown to me). Their family included John, Marshall Jr., and Euranie. Marjorie Morgan was the descendant of slaves who had escaped from the U.S.A. and found freedom in Canada. I believe that it was her grandfather who married a First Nation lady. Mrs. Morgan was a lovely woman from my recollections, and a great cook :-)

Yes, they were/are Negro which was the accepted racial identity term of the day and what he referred to himself as. The one and only time that I ever heard race mentioned was when Dad asked him about the use of the word "Black". Mr. Morgan retorted quickly that that was an American political term, and he would not use it. He was Negro, period and end of that topic. It mattered not to my Dad or us. We were family friends. I always looked forward to visiting them as a child and playing with Euranie and Marshall Jr.. Mr. Morgan and Dad remained friends no matter where we moved. I can recall one time when my parents lived in Swanton, Ohio, and Mr. and Mrs. Morgan visited them for a week. Mom wanted to take them to the club, but the club was, well...it didn't allow Negros in, to put it simply. Mom put out the story that the attaché to the Jamaican embassy in Toronto, Canada, was visiting them. Of course, the social climbers at the club couldn't resist meeting Mr. Morgan and his wife, no matter what color they were :-) After all, he was an attaché to the Jamaican ambassador! lol... Need I say more? Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were invited to the club! Mom and Mrs. Morgan had difficulty suppressing their grins and laughter at the wool that was being pulled over the club members' eyes. They had a grand evening. Once they got home they all roared with laughter over their "royal treatment". They never forgot it, or stopped talking about it, and Mom was immediately a rung higher in the club's social "pecking" order...lol....

Marshall Morgan died at age 97. I hope that he had a good life in his retirement as he deserved it. R. I. P.