Dr. Michael Lafayette Morgan, 69, from Shawnee, Oklahoma, was found at his home on August 5, 2010, after dying unexpectedly due to natural causes. He was born in Shawnee on May 7, 1941, to Lafayette and Zula (Johnson) Morgan, and he had two sisters, Jimetta, who died at age 3, and Meekee Morgan Graham who survives. Dr. Morgan was a Shawnee High School graduate, where he was drum major for the band his senior year and a proud member of a barbershop quartet. He graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University where he completed his pre-dental requirements, earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry, and later, a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma. He devoted 40 years of service to the state health department with 32 of those years serving as the Chief of Dental Health Service where he led the state's public health dental program that included dental health education, tobacco use prevention, dental clinical care, community water fluoridation, and the dental loan repayment program. Dr. Morgan was a fellow of both the International College of Dentists and the American College of Dentists and had been a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry since the mid-1970s. He was also an active member of the Oklahoma Dental Association and the American Dental Association. Over the course of his career he served as President of the National Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, President of the Oklahoma Dental Foundation, and President of the Oklahoma Public Health Association. In 2007, Dr. Morgan led the 80th anniversary celebration of public health dentistry in Oklahoma, which was recognized by the governor and the Oklahoma Dental Association. He was presented an authentic Indian headdress with the designation "Honorary Chief" along with a Cherokee name meaning "man who served the public well" for his many years of service to the people of Oklahoma. When he retired on August 1, 2007, he held the longevity record for not just the state of Oklahoma, but also the nation as the longest-serving State Public Health Dental Director. In 2008, he was honored with the prestigious Oklahoma Dentist of the Year Award by the Oklahoma Dental Association, and he was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors. On July 1, 2009, Dr. Morgan assumed new responsibilities as a member of the Oklahoma State Board of Health after being appointed by Governor Brad Henry and confirmed by the state senate. He lived in Shawnee all of his life and enjoyed many activities, especially gospel and country music, model trains, visiting family, and University of Oklahoma college football. He is survived by his younger sister, Meekee Morgan Graham and her husband, Robert Graham, of Charleston, Missouri; niece, Melissa Graham Reynolds and her husband, William Reynolds, and their young twins, Emma and Daniel, of Charleston, Missouri; niece, Robin Graham Cooke and her husband, Steven Cooke, and their young children, Morgan and Davis, of Nashville, Tennessee; and cousins, Melvin Burl Johnson, and his wife, Loretta, Phyllis Hilton, and Leann Chamberlain of Shawnee, Oklahoma. His passion for improving public health, spending time with nieces and great nieces and nephews, being a proud citizen of the great state of Oklahoma, and of course, an unparalleled passion for OU football will be terribly missed by all who knew him or had the privilege to meet him. Visitation will be Sunday, August 8th, from 5 to 7pm at the Walker Funeral Home, 201 East 45th Street, Shawnee, OK 74801. Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 9th, at 10am at the Faith Community Church of God, 2019 East MacArthur, Shawnee, OK 74804.