Helen Morgan

September 5, 1922 - August 12, 2020

Helen Hamra Morgan, age 97, passed peacefully from this life on Wednesday, August 12, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Helen was born in Bristow, Oklahoma. She was the daughter of Haleem and Fadway Hamra who immigrated to this great country from Lebanon. She was the first generation born in America and her parents instilled in her the value of family and earning an education. Helen was passionate about her Christian faith, family and Lebanese heritage. She delighted in being with her family for the holidays and especially loved to visit her granddaughters on their birthdays. She enjoyed attending the annual Hamra-Homra family Reunion and recruited family members to attend and keep our love for family, culture and traditions alive. In High School Helen was awarded a Diploma of Honor from the State Department of Education having been neither absent from school nor tardy for six years. She attended Oklahoma A and M College (now OSU) and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics in 1947, then furthered her education earning a Master of Science degree in Nutrition from the University of Iowa's Graduate College in 1948. While working as a Research Dietician at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City she met and married her husband, Raymond French Morgan of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Helen and Raymond raised their two children, Melissa and Andrew in Oklahoma City until Raymond's death in 1963. During her career in Dietetics and Nutrition in Tulsa Helen worked as a Consulting Dietician for her brother, Joe Hamra, who owned Nursing Home and Assisted Living facilities in Tulsa and Bristow. She was a Nutritionist at the Tulsa County Health Department, a Nutrition Instructor at Hillcrest School of Nursing and a Public Health Service Nutritionist for the Indian Health Service in Claremore, OK. Helen was very active professionally at the national, state and district level. She was a mentor and preceptor for Dietetic Interns and a member of numerous professional associations. She received the Distinguished Dietician of the Year award in 1990 from the Oklahoma Dietetic Association, Nutrition and Dietetics Program award in 1990 from the Indian Health Service, Area Directors Area Wide and National Impact Award from the Indian Health Service in 1992 and Consultant Dietician of the Year in 2013. She was preceded in death by her parents Haleem and Fadway Hamra, her husband Ray and all her brothers and sisters. She is survived by her daughter Melissa Morgan, of Broken Arrow, OK, her son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Kate (Baron) Morgan of Middleton, WI, her granddaughters, Liz and Allie Morgan of Middleton, WI, her sister-in-law, Joan Morgan Price of Winston-Salem, N.C., and many other family members. The family is grateful to Helen's caregivers, Jackie B, LaQuinda D, Jackie G, Laura O, Kim T and Katrice J. With your help we were able to honor our Mother's wishes. A Celebration of Helen's Life is planned for a later date. Memorial gifts may be made to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation or the Bristow Historical Society and Museum. "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." Isaiah 60:1