Rainey Lynn Morgan

Visitation Service will be Sunday May 1, 2022 6pm until 8pm at Chapel Hill Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be on Monday May 2, 2022 12 noon at Chapel Hill Funeral Home. Pastor Wes Jones, will be officiating and Theletha Williams and Matt Morgan will speak. Burial will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery.

Rainey Lynn Morgan (née Merklein) was born on a rainy day on September 6, 1959 and passed away on a rainy morning on Tuesday April 26, 2022, at the age of 62. She was surrounded by loved ones at Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Alabama. Rainey is survived by her husband Preston Morgan; her children Melissa Morgan, Michelle Ogle (Nick), and Matthew Morgan (Carlo); three grandchildren Braelyn, Jack, and Sam; brothers Jim, Pat, and Tim and sister Wendy. She was preceded in death by her parents, Norbert and Diane.

Rainey was born to Norbert and Diane Merklein in Merrill, Wisconsin, on September 6, 1959. She was the eldest of five children. She grew up and attended school in Wausau, WI, where she graduated from Wausau West High School (Class of ‘78). After graduation, Rainey decided to serve her country by joining the U.S. Army. She completed basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and served a total of 14 months as an Intelligence Specialist (Private First Class). The Army changed her life in many ways, but most significantly in introducing her to Preston.

Rainey met Preston in the mailroom at Fort Bliss, Texas. As Preston says, “that was the first spark that ignited our love. I just can’t believe she picked me. She was so full of life.” They married on August 31, 1979 in El Paso, TX. They loved going to concerts, attending baseball games, and exploring. Their early life together took them from Texas to Alaska until they finally settled in Weaver, Alabama, where they found their forever home.

Rainey spent 35 years of her professional career serving the Federal Government. For 28 of those years, she worked at the Veterans Affairs Clinic in Oxford, AL. Her unwavering support and care of our country’s Veterans is something she treasured and that her family is extremely proud of. In 2018, she retired as a Medical Support Assistant from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Rainey loved sports of all kinds; high school, college, and professional. She is what some would call a “professionally-crazed sports fan.” She was the biggest cheerleader of all Wisconsin-based teams, but she was the Green Bay Packers’ #1 fan. She even has her own brick as part of Lambeau Field that reads, “Rainey Morgan: Forever a Packer fan.” Some of her other favorite things included cooking for her family, baking cookies with her granddaughter Braelyn, keeping up with the latest reality TV shows, and enjoying the great outdoors on her beautiful backyard deck, which became her sanctuary - wind chimes, flowers, birds, cats, dogs, and fresh air - with an iced-cold “Nana juice” in hand.

If you knew Rainey, you knew her as a devout wife, the epitome of a mother, and the most dedicated friend. She honored every promise that she made to Preston in their wedding vows until her final days. She supported Preston wherever he was stationed around the world. She was her children’s greatest champion and never failed to provide them with essential needs, advice and unconditional love. She fondly reminisced about her high school friends often and would recount their many shenanigans - if you know, you know.

She had a memorable laugh and gave the best hugs. She was extremely intentional about friendships, connections, and community. She listened intently and offered advice when needed. Her selflessness, care for others, and generosity could make anybody believe that angels do walk among us on Earth.

Just like one of Rainey’s favorite songs, James Taylor’s Shower the People, she lived her life and always believed it was, “… better to shower the people you love with love. Show them the way that you feel. I know things are gonna be just fine, if you only will.”

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ChapelHillFH.com for the Morgan family.