Mr. William Arthur Morgan's Obituary
W. Art. Morgan, a resident of Pearland, TX passed away on June 6, 2012 with his loving wife Laura of 61 years by his side. Art had been a resident of Pearland for the last 16 years and before that was a long time resident of the East End of Houston, having moved there with his parents and sister in the early part of the great depression. He was born March 21, 1925 on a small cotton farm in the Community of Loma, about 10 miles west of Huntsville, TX. As a young boy, Art spent many hours fishing, hunting and wandering the fields and woods of Loma with his cousins and friends. This little community always filled a special place in his heart. Art graduated from Charles H. Milby High School in Houston on January 23, 1942 at the age of 16. Before entering the U.S. Navy during WWII, Art completed a year at Southwestern Louisiana University and spent a short time working as a copy boy on the staff of the Houston Post at the old plant at Dowling and Polk. He began his service in the US. Navy in the fall of 1943 and after basic training was assigned as an ordinance man on the Air Craft Carrier Enterprise. After she was diIIIsabledIII at Okinawa by Japanese Bombers, Art was assigned to help get her ready for the invasion of Japan. Later, somewhere in the Pacific, the crew was told about two super atom bombs that had been dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and that these weapons were expected to bring a quick end to the war. Art was discharged from the Navy in April 1946 and enrolled at the University of Houston to complete his education. While still attending the University at night, Art went to work for the Shell Chemical Plant in Deer Park in 1948. He became Supervisor of Industrial Relations at that facility and later was transferred to Shell's head office in New York as Manager of Contractor Relations in the Engineering Department. He moved back to Houston in 1969 when Shell moved their Head Office to Houston. At that time, Shell's Manufacturing Group in the U.S.A. consisted of six refineries and eight chemical plants. As a member of the Engineering Dept., Art helped manage construction projects at most of these facilities. After retirement in 1989 with over 40 years of service with Shell, Art was contacted by the Houston Business Roundtable about joining the organization for the purpose of establishing the Houston Area Contractor's Safety Council in Deer Park. Art opened this facility in 1991 in order to provide basic and specialized safety training to all contractor employees that work in industries along the Houston Ship Channel. Today the industrial participants of this Council require all contractor employees to show evidence of training at this facility in order to gain entry through their contractor gates. Art is survived by his wife Laura Kroeger Morgan and their four children, Rebecca, Melissa, William Jr. and Melinda Benoit and husband David. He is also survived by his grandchildren, the loves of his life, Marci Hopkins, her husband Ray, Kelsey Benoit, Jessie Benoit and three adored great grandchildren, Matthew and Grace Hopkins and Grayson Benoit. Art and Laura have been members of the Golfcrest Country Club since they built their home in Pearland in 1996. They are members of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Houston. Art was preceded in death by his father, Will R. Morgan, his mother Frances L. Morgan and sister, Marjorie Hawkins of Oklahoma City.
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