Helen Louise Morgan

Helen Louise Morgan ended her remarkable journey at 98 years and 9 months young on April 12, 2023, after a lifetime full of loving, giving to others and accomplishment. She was a loving daughter, sister, wife, a devoted mother, and a very proud grandmother and great-grandmother. She was a thoughtful and generous friend to many. Helen remains very much alive in all of us who are lucky enough to have been close to her, and to have been uplifted by her generous and caring spirit.

Helen was a lover of ladybugs, strawberries, newspaper cartoon strips, and ice cream; she taught at least two generations of children to catch and release fireflies. She had a wonderful laugh.

Helen Morgan’s life journey began on July 21, 1924 in Gallatin, Missouri with her parents Stanley W. and Sarah M. Mundell, who owned and operated Mundell’s Electric and Radio on the town square. They were soon joined by her younger brother Robert (Bob). She grew up surrounded by love and the deep sense of small-town community. Helen helped in the family store, took tapdancing and piano lessons, and enjoyed cats Spanky and Lady. She was invited to travel at ages 9 and 12 via Wabash trains to California and to the N.Y. World’s Fair, rare opportunities for a small-town girl of modest means. At around junior high school age she would ride in a horse drawn wagon to a rural church to play piano for their Sunday service. She was Gallatin High School valedictorian, and played saxophone in the high school band where on football Saturdays she could keep an eye on the captain of the football team, her future husband George.

Helen was the first in her immediate family to attend college. She graduated from Northwest Missouri State College with a Business degree and an emphasis in Home Economics. She told stories about being one of only two or three women in lecture halls full of men who had been recently discharged from WWII military service. While in college Helen was elected President of Kappa Omicron Phi, an honorary professional fraternity, and was also chosen as President of her campus chapter of Sigma, Sigma, Sigma sorority.

She met her future husband of 68 years, George R. Morgan, in the second grade. Could it have been love at first sight? In 1946, she and George married following his discharge from the Army Air Corps. When George returned to finish his degree at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Helen worked with the Director of Admissions as an Assistant Director at Christian College also in Columbia. After living briefly in Sacramento, CA., Helen and George settled in Independence, Missouri. Helen worked for a time for the President of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City and then they began their family. Their two daughters, Ann and Marcia, grew up in Independence before the family moved to Middletown, Ohio in 1967.

In Independence, Missouri, Helen was an active member and then President of the local chapter of AAUW (American Association of University Women). In support of her young girls, she served as a Brownie Troop Leader and a PTA volunteer. In Middletown, Helen was a member of P.E.O., the Philanthropic Educational Organization, where she worked with the group to support women pursuing higher education. She was also an active member of women’s golf groups for a period, having taken up the sport to share in husband George’s passion for golf. She won the 9-hole Brown’s Run C.C. President’s Cup twice.

Helen’s lifelong church attendance and consistent involvements were manifestations of her strong Christian faith. She became a Sunday School teacher and a leader, especially through her Circle, at the First Christian Church in Independence. After moving to Ohio, she again served her church, the First Christian Church of Middletown, in numerous ways over many years and was formally recognized by the congregation for doing so by being named an Elder Emeritus of the church.

Especially after giving birth to her daughters Helen devoted her considerable energy to creating a loving and welcoming home and setting an example of selflessness to everyone she met. Wherever she went she created an atmosphere of warmth and care around her by always appreciating others for their best qualities. She rarely missed sending a card and/or a handwritten note to celebrate, to thank, or to express care for others as occasions arose over many, many years. Helen was a virtuosic cook, using her skills to celebrate her guests and the occasion. Her cherry pie is a multi-generational legend!

Throughout most of her life, Helen was engaged in several fabric and visual arts. Her adventure as an oil-on-canvas painter began at age 70 when she decided to try her hand at a long-time interest by joining a class at the Middleton Arts Center. She became a prolific painter and, until last Fall, continued to attend art classes at MAC as much for the supportive friendships as for the artistic feedback. She loved the challenge of rendering the interplay of light and shadow. Her works earned numerous awards in local and regional shows in southwest Ohio; several were selected to represent Ohio Living on annual calendars. She often donated paintings to be auctioned in support of a cause or an organization she cared for. Most of her paintings however are held close to heart by her children and grandchildren and are proudly displayed in their homes and workplaces.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents Stanley W. and Sarah M. Mundell, her brother Robert J. Mundell, sister-in-law Norma and her beloved husband George. She leaves her devoted and abundantly loved daughters Ann Morgan (Cindy Cohen) of Wilmington, NC, and Marcia Leimkuhler (Jim) of Corona del Mar, CA along with cherished grandsons Bradley, his wife Ashton of St. Petersburg, FL, and Scott, his wife Jamie of Costa Mesa, CA, along with four great-grandchildren -- Riley, Charlotte, Tucker, and Madeline -- whom she loved dearly. As the oldest of the great-grandchildren, Riley was able to spend time with her great-grandmother; the two formed a special bond which Helen treasured in her final years.

Helen enjoyed a close circle of church-family, friends, neighbors, and wonderful caregivers who helped her family see her through the last months of her life. A special thank you for the generous and loving care they gave to her and to her family.

In Helen’s honor, we ask that you follow her lifelong example and be kind to one another and lift each other up. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to: Middletown Art Center, P.O. Box 441, Middletown, Ohio 45042 or to First Christian Church, 4520 Rosedale Rd., Middletown, OH. 45042.

A service and reception at the First Christian Church in Middletown will be held at 11:00 am, Thursday, May 18, 2023.