HERBERT DOYLE MORGAN
Seneca, SC– Herbert Doyle Morgan passed away on Sept. 24, at his home.
A service to celebrate his life will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 2, at
Seneca Presbyterian Church, with burial to follow at Oconee Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choice.
He was the son of the late Herbert Doyle Morgan Sr. and Christine Jones
Morgan of Seneca. He was born in 1929, grew up in Seneca, and attended Seneca
public schools, graduating with the class of 1946. He later attended the
U.S. Naval Academy, class of 1951, and then returned to the College of
Clemson to finish his degree after four years of ROTC training. He received
an officer commission in the USAR, where he served a number of years in the
late 1950s.
After graduating from Clemson, he joined the American Cyanamid Chemical
Company in sales and management. He worked in Rockefeller Plaza and lived in
New York, N.Y., until he returned to Seneca in 1957 to become more active in
civil and political affairs.
He was a member of the Seneca Jaycees becoming its president in 1960, the
year it sponsored the organization of the Seneca Chamber of Commerce and was
named a “Young Man of the Year” in the same year. He was also a member of
the Seneca Rotary Club for more than 40 years and a life member of the
Masonic Lodge being a 32-degree Scottish Rite and a Shriner.
As a child, he attended Corinth Baptist Church near Seneca, where his mother
taught school. As an adult, he joined the Seneca Methodist Church and served
on its board during the time the current St. Marks Methodist Church was
built in the Adams Subdivision in the 1960s. After his marriage, he joined
the Seneca Presbyterian Church, where he served as deacon and elder for more
than 50 years.
He owned and ran the Nimmons Farm Supply Co. and the Mountain View Milling
Co. in Seneca for 15 years. After the lakes covered much of the farmland in
the 1960s, he returned to the USC Law School, receiving his Juris Doctorate
in 1971. After his graduation, he returned to Seneca and practiced law for
more than 30 years.
He organized the Keowee Federal Savings and Loan in 1979, which later became
Sun Trust. He was instrumental in organizing the East Seneca Water District,
and developed two residential subdivisions, Indian Hills and Cherokee Garden, on
the new Clemson Blvd., in the 1960s. He proposed the idea to rename the
Excelsior voting precinct to Ravenel and to build the Wells Highway, south
perimeter road, establishing Ravenel Elementary School, which unified the
greater Clemson area with the Clemson Airport.
He was elected to and served in the S.C. House of Representatives and S.C.
Senate for 16 years. During this time, he was instrumental in helping the
leaders of Oconee County upgrade its secondary schools, roads, airport,
industries, public libraries, law enforcement centers, public health centers, and recreational centers. He also helped welcome Duke Power to the community
encouraging the building of the Lake Keowee Nuclear plant project.
He married his wife, Kate Nimmons; daughter of Lucia Lewis and William
Pickens Nimmons, in 1956. They had two children, Jean Nimmons Morgan King
(Mrs. C.A. King), of Seneca; and Robert Edward Morgan (deceased).
Grandchildren are Jordan Kate King, Justin Robert, Landon Edward, and Taylor
Wade Morgan.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Marshall Jones Morgan, who is
survived by his wife, Jeanne; and their three children, Sharon Morgan, Sally
Lawton and Edward Morgan.
Davenport Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.