Thomas N. Morgan

Thomas Newton Morgan III passed away on October 8, 2017. Tom was born on December 13, 1930 in the Republic of Panama, to Selma Wacker Morgan and Thomas Newton Morgan, Jr., where his father sold building materials throughout Central and South America and his mother worked as a librarian at a U.S. Marine Corps base. The family returned to the U.S., and Tom grew up in Atlanta, Winter Haven and Tallahassee, where he attended Leon High School. Tom graduated from Florida State University in 1952, joined the U.S. Army, and spent two years stationed at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. After the Army, Tom returned to work at FSU and met and fell in love with the beautiful and funny Anne Wells Bradbury, also a student at FSU. Tom convinced Anne to marry him, and the two were married in Denver, Colorado in 1957.

Tom had moved to Ocala in 1956 to work at the Florida State Employment Service, and then formed his own private employment agency, first called The Job Center and then Morgan Personnel. After 11 years in the employment agency business, Tom began selling real estate and became a real estate appraiser, both for the Marion County Property Appraiser’s office and for private entities. He found great satisfaction in finding the right person for the right job and his encyclopedic knowledge of the lands of Marion County was unmatched.

Tom was proud to call Ocala home and was always a booster for Ocala and Marion County. Tom was elected to the Ocala City Council and served from 1970 to 1974 in that role. Tom also was chairman of the Ocala Code Enforcement Board, and was appointed to serve as Special Master for the Marion County Property Adjustment Board. Tom was a life member of the Ocala Lions Club and the Elks Lodge No. 286. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Ocala and the Marston Masonic Lodge of Ft. McCoy.

Tom enjoyed life, was devoted to his wife Anne, and loved to meet new people and hear their stories. Tom always enjoyed all the outdoor activities that Central Florida has to offer. He was happiest when his family joined him in fishing, boating, sailing and camping around Florida, and never more joyful than when a member of the family caught a fish. Tom greatly enjoyed his service and the comradery he had with the members of the Ocala Lions Club.

Married 60 years, Tom leaves behind his wife, Anne Morgan, son and daughter-in-law Tom and Jill Morgan, son Bill Morgan, son and daughter-in-law Charlie and Lynn Morgan, daughter and son-in-law Ellen and Darrell Wheat, his sister Ann M. Conn, ten grandchildren and eight great grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Services will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 5740 South Pine Avenue, Ocala, Florida 34480. In lieu of flowers, donations in Tom’s memory can be made to Hospice of Marion County, PO Box 4860, Ocala, FL 34478-4860 (https://www.hospiceofmarion.com/donations.html) or The Ocala Lions Club, P.O. Box 801, Ocala, Florida 34478.