George Dennis Morgan

George Dennis Morgan passed away unexpectedly from natural causes on December 28, 2022.  He was born on August 25, 1935, to Grace Ann Wiltshire Morgan and Dennis Le Roy Morgan in his Wiltshire grandparents’ home in Circleville, Utah.  His sister Sharon joined them a few years later, and when their parents divorced George and Sharon lived with their grandparents while their mother worked at a defense plant in Salt Lake City.  When their mother married C. Howard Watkin they all moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, which was a very difficult time for George because he felt like he would always live in Circleville with his grandparents.  Soon thereafter, Patricia Louise (Patsy) and Charles joined the family.

When WWII ended, the family moved to Richfield, Utah. However, George’s heart was in Circleville and he went to stay with his grandparents as often as he could.  When he was a senior in high school, he moved there to live with his grandparents and he graduated from Piute High School in 1953.  He was a good tennis player and enjoyed playing baseball.

He joined the Navy when he was 17 years old to get the benefit of the Kiddie Cruise and serve a three-year enlistment instead of four.  Although he enlisted during the Korean War, it ended before he entered, but he nonetheless benefitted from the GI Bill.  He was only on a ship once, for Thanksgiving dinner.  He worked in planes as a radar man and joked that while his friends were in school, he was flying rescue missions in the Philippines. 

In the Fall of 1957, he started at the University of Utah.  In the Spring of 1958, he ran into Dolores Dalton of Circleville on the street in Salt Lake City while she was attending LDS Business College, and they started dating off and on for several years.  That Summer, he worked driving a bus for Utah Parks Company and friends persuaded him to go to Utah State, where he joined the Sigma Nu fraternity.  He graduated in accounting in the Spring of 1961 and went to work for Sperry Utah Company.  Dolores convinced him they ought to get married, which they did on November 24, 1961, in the same home where he was born.

In January 1963, George went to work for Neilsen & Psarras (later Elmer Fox and Company) to become a Certified Public Accountant.  One of his clients was Arctic Circle, which asked him to come work there, which he did in October 1967.  The previous May, they adopted Melinda and became a family.

He eventually became CFO of Arctic Circle and Minit Lube, where he enjoyed his work.  They adopted Mitchell in 1970 and moved to Cottonwood Heights.  In 1976, they were surprised when Dolores became pregnant, and they had Russell that June.  In 1986, they moved to their home in Sandy, where they lived ever since.  George retired when he was 75 years old.

George and Dolores traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Hawaii.  He loved watching football, was an avid reader, and a very good card player.  He made lifelong friends in his fraternity and at work and enjoyed time with his children and grandchildren.  He was honest, dependable, hardworking, and people trusted his word and judgment.  He lived within his means and invested in the future.  He educated his children who desired it, contributed to education funds for his grandchildren, and helped all of his nieces and nephews with school expenses.

George was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, Papa, and friend and will be dearly missed. George is survived by Dolores, his wife of 61 years; siblings Sharon Anderson, Patsy (J.R.) Fullmer, and Charles (Sondra) Watkin; children Melinda, Mitchell, and Russell (Katie); and grandchildren Mia, George, Eliza, and Olive.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 7, 2023, at 11:00am, at Cannon Mortuary, 2460 E. Bengal Blvd., Cottonwood Heights.  Visitation will be held there from 9:30am to 10:30am.  Interment will be at 12:30pm at Memorial Mountain View Cemetery, 3115 Bengal Blvd., Cottonwood Heights.