WAYNE LEROY MORGAN, 83, passed away on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, at Heritage Park Senior Center, Fort Wayne.
“He was our beloved father, an author and a retired Lieutenant of the Columbus Ohio Police Department.” Born Jan. 26, 1927, in Columbus, Ohio, he was the son of Clarence “Roy” Morgan and Dorothy (Bumgarner) Morgan. Just out of high school, he married Barbara Faye Snider in Columbus, Ohio; she preceded him in death in 1980. He served in the U.S. Army Armored Division until the end of World War II. In the 1990’s, he authored a book that related his police exploits, “The Coppers: Personal Chronicles of the Columbus, Ohio Police Department 1935 to 1960″, which became an instant hit with members of the police profession and was used as a University text book. He joined the Columbus Ohio Division of Police in 1948. In 1959, he was promoted to Lieutenant-in-Charge of the Homicide and Robbery Squads, where he promoted America’s first female homicide detective: Madeline Baker. After suffering from a severe on duty back injury, he was forced into early retirement in 1965. He moved to Churubusco, where he founded, owned, and operated the Eel River Gun Club. He and members competed for decades in firearms competitions throughout Indiana and Ohio. He was a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the American Legion, and the National Rifle Association.
Surviving are his four children, James of Scottsdale, Ariz., Jane Semones, Jackie Sherman, and Jerold, all of Fort Wayne; four grandchildren, Cody, Jordy and Tony Morgan, all of Fort Wayne, and Kimberly Quinn of Caldwell, Idaho; and one great-granddaughter, Bethany Quinn of Caldwell, Idaho.
A celebration of his life is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, July 16, 2010, at American Legion Post 499, 4830 Hillegas Road, Fort Wayne.