PHIL MORGAN FROM LEUCADIA, CA HAS PASSED AWAY

[Phil]

Philip James Morgan was born Nov 21 1948 in Inglewood, CA to his parents Shirley and Thomas Morgan.  He attended Palomar College where he met his wife Joanie in the early 70s.  He also worked at Palomar College for many years as custodial supervisor until his retirement in 2010.  At the college he helped establishing and maintaining the Palm Garden.  He and his wife lived in Leucadia since 1976, where he created a tropical oasis that included many species of rare palms.  

A longtime advocate of palm trees and the Palm Society, Phil had an excellent knowledge of palms and would promote palms with anyone that visited his garden.  His humor and personality definitely became evident with such visits.  The PSSC toured his garden multiple times.  Phil and Joanie also acquired a home in the nearby desert area in Southern California and guess what he planted there?  More desert tolerant palms! 

I visited with Phil several weeks before he passed and he was as jovial and talkative as ever.  I and many other friends and palm enthusiasts will miss him dearly. 

He passed away peacefully on a Thursday July 27th, 2023.

Phil is survived by his wife Joanie, three daughters, Agatha Brown, Greta Ott and Maja Morgan, his 2 son-in-laws, Jeff Brown and Tim Ott.  He had 5 gradnchildren: Devlin Ott, Finn Ott, Lilian Brown, Malley Ott and Thomas Brown.  He is also survived by his two siblings, Thomas Bruce Morgan and Jane Ann Morgan. 

 

 

[bgl]

Phil,

Thank you so very much for posting these sad news. Phil Morgan was indeed a very special person and a great friend. He and I spent quite a bit of time together way back when I lived in the San Diego area. I also bought a number of palms from him when I was still in a "palm acquisition mode" while living in Poway (early 1990s) and he and his wife Joanie also attended my 50th birthday party. It's sad to know that he is no longer with us. My thoughts are with Joanie and the family.

Bo-Göran

[BS Man about Palms]

Thanks for posting this @Phil. I am pretty sure I happened upon Phil's place just off the 101 in Luecadia.  I also think @Tracy was discussing his place with others very recently.

Sad news..
RIP

[Tracy]

Thanks for sharing the sad news Phil.  I didn't ever meet him but make it a point to walk by his house frequently when out walking my dogs.  I always hoped for the opportunity to chat with him.  It is nice to hear others fond memories of him.

[Dypsisdean]

I don’t know how I missed this. Having just received a voice mail from Phil’s wife, I am just now reading this here. It is very sad news.

Little did I know that the day I met Phil in his garden, my life had changed in a meaningful way..

Before Phil, I was growing the half dozen palms that you saw in SoCal landscapes every day, along with the common companion plants you could find at any Nursery, I had a garden that was lush by SoCal standards, but no longer satisfying when I returned home after meeting Phil for the first time in his garden. It was the late 80s, And Phil lived a couple of minutes away.

After Phil, there was an International and a local Society dedicated to palms. There were dozens of other palms available if you knew the right people. They even just discovered one that had a flaming red new leaf from a place I never heard of. There were to be many pursuits and hundreds of new palms and plants in my future.

For years I learned from Phil, and with his help I met many other like minded people. It is hard to describe how different things were before the internet. And how difficult it was to get information, seeds, and plants. Without Phil, I may not have found my way.

So, thank you Phil for starting me on this 35 year journey that has changed every day of my life since. I am where I am today, and doing what I am doing, in large part due to that day in your garden.

 

[LJG]

Wow, just saw this. I only met him twice, once doing a "drive by" and he caught me and let me tour his front yard and a second time with when Bob de Jong took me. It was at Phil's garden that I realized I planted my Beccariophoenix in the wrong spot! Didn't know they got that big at the time

When I first got the palm bug back in 2005, the first names that always came up were Darian, Dejong, Ouer, Hooper, Ralph, and of course Phil. 

[DoomsDave]

Thanks for sharing @Phil so sorry to hear.