Vincent Issac Morgan
COLUMBIA — Vincent Issac Morgan of Columbia died Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. He was 83.
Dr. Morgan is described by many as a devoted, caring physician.
When he went to school at Washington University, they called him "Doctor Hollywood" because he had long hair and clothes from California, where he had lived, social worker Sheryl Davis said.
Dr. Morgan was born Oct. 19, 1926, in Boulder, Colo., to William and Lila Morgan.
He graduated from Pacific Union College in Angwin, Calif., earning bachelor’s degrees in chemistry, biology and religion. He graduated from Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1951. He served in the Army Medical Corps as a captain during the Korean War from 1953 to 1955.
Dr. Morgan moved to Missouri permanently in 1995. He became the medical director of the Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron and then worked for four years at Mediquick Convenience Clinic in Columbia. For the past five years he cared for local nursing home patients in the Columbia area.
Dr. Morgan was very compassionate, said those who knew him. This was revealed through his work.
"At the nursing home if a patient’s glasses broke he would take his little screw driver and fix them," his daughter Ruth Ellen Morgan said. "If he couldn’t he would take them to a glasses store and get them fixed."
Dr. Morgan was the medical director of Columbia Health Care and was known for his availability. He lived so close to the facility that he would tell patients, "I'll be there in two minutes."
"We would always see him from the front office window and he would come flying into the parking lot a little dangerously," Davis said.
Dr. Morgan had patients at the Parkside Manor facility and started a "biggest loser" contest there. Patients who participated competed to see who could lose the most weight. Each employee donated $20 to the pot, and Dr. Morgan doubled the amount that was donated, nurse Jessie Perry said.
"My mom once said if he had his last dollar in his pocket and someone needed it, he would give it to him," Ruth Ellen Morgan said.
He married Betty (Gaunt) Dillender in 1951 in California.
Dr. Morgan is survived by his two children, William Stephen Morgan of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Ruth Ellen Morgan of Columbia; four grandchildren, James David Elliott III and Ashley Morgan Campbell, both of Columbia, and Isabel Lila Morgan and Gabriela Theodora Morgan of San Luis Obispo; and two great-grandsons, Lucas Blaiz Elliott and Ethan James McCauley of Columbia.
His parents and his wife died earlier.
Services have not yet been planned. Memorial contributions may be sent to Missouri United Methodist Church, 204 S. Ninth St., Columbia, MO 65201.
Condolences can be posted at memorialfuneralhomeandcemetery.com.
A private memorial for family and friends will be held at a later date.
