Timothy (Tim) Bruce Morgan, 57, died of liver failure at his home in Pittsboro, N.C. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, surrounded by his partner, Samantha Birchard; his former wife and enduring friend, Katie Haywood; his longtime buddy, Don Basnight; and his dog, Tasha.
Born on July 23, 1952, in Atlantic City, N.J., Tim was the adopted son of the late Fred Bruce and Ruth McNamee Morgan. Much of his youth was spent with his family in Amherst, Mass., where his father worked as a professor of religion at Amherst College. Tim received his secondary education at Williston Academy, and while there he befriended and studied with renowned illustrator and wood-block engraver Barry Moser. He went on to graduate from Harvard University in 1975 with an A.B. degree in English. Tim was an avid and accomplished squash player and played in Harvard’s varsity league.
Following graduation, Tim moved to Ossabaw Island off the coast of Savannah, Ga., which at the time was privately owned and home of the Ossabaw Island Project, a program designed to provide a creative retreat for artists and academics. There he worked as a boat operator and general jack-of-all-trades. Following sale of the island to the State of Georgia in the late 1970s, Tim moved to Aiken, S.C., where he began his own house-painting business.
In 1988, Tim moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., to be with his future wife, whom he had met in her hometown of Aiken. Tim and Katie were married in Pittsboro in 1995 and moved to Hillsborough, N.C. in 1997. Following their divorce, in 2004, Tim returned to Pittsboro, where in 2009 he met Samantha, with whom he resided until his death.
Tim enjoyed the creativity involved in carpentry and home restoration, taking pleasure in making things beautiful, which he did brilliantly in his capacity as sole proprietor of Morgan Restoration. His work is marked by fine craftsmanship, imagination and a distinctive flair for the whimsical.
Tim’s other interests included flying (he received his pilot’s license in 2001), driving his Alfa Romeo convertible and taking long walks along the shores of Jordan Lake with his long-abiding companion and perhaps his greatest love, his dog, Tasha.
Other survivors include his sisters, Rebecca Morgan of Plymouth, Mass., and Jill Morgan Marshall of White Hill, Nova Scotia.
Arrangements are by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas. A memorial service is being planned for early spring.