In Memory of Evan Morgan
Evan James Morgan, ASA 2015 -- father, husband, son, brother, friend -- took his own life on President’s Day weekend, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Evan was born July 6, 1980 to Montie and Teresa Morgan in Portland, Oregon. As a child, he enjoyed camping and fishing with his parents and siblings in the Oregon wilderness. By age 14, Evan attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
In 1995 the Morgan family moved to Austin, Texas, where Evan played football, began playing guitar, and excelled in his studies at the Science Academy at LBJ High School. From 1998-2002, he attended Lawrence University and Music Conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he majored in Mathematics and minored in Computer Science and English. Evan enjoyed a life-changing semester abroad at the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary. In 2002 he accepted a Regent’s Fellowship to study with Professor Bogdan Oporowski at Louisiana State University. As a PhD candidate he studied at the University of Hamburg, funded by a Louisiana Education Quality Support Fund grant. He completed his Mathematics dissertation, Some Results on Cubic Graphs, in 2009.
In 2010 Evan met his future bride, Sarah Hoffman. He followed Sarah to Pennsylvania in 2011 and shortly thereafter began teaching actuarial science at Pennsylvania State University. In June 2012 Evan and Sarah wed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Evan and Sarah moved to Denver, Colorado, in 2013 when Evan began working as a senior actuarial analyst at Wakely Consulting. As a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (2015) and an Associate in the Society of Actuaries (2015), he regularly presented his work at professional conferences.
Evan and Sarah welcomed their first daughter, Iris, in 2013. She was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder, multi-systemic smooth muscle dysfunction (ACTA2 r179c mutation), which they learned to manage together. In 2016, their daughter Sibyl arrived. Evan was a doting father and loving husband who worked hard to provide for his family. He called being a father the “best experience in the world.”
When Evan decided to learn a new skill, like playing classical guitar, writing poetry, competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or renovating a house, he was a quick student who displayed curiosity and dexterity. In 2016 and 2017, he caught the “fourteener bug” and would climb new 14,000-foot mountains nearly every weekend. In addition to finding transcendence in the mountains, he was spiritually fed through art, music, theater, and literature.
His laughter, wit, and energy will be missed by all who knew him. Along with a large extended family, including his grandparents Walter and Donna Hogle of San Diego, California, he is survived by his wife Sarah Hoffman and daughters Iris and Sibyl, of Denver, Colorado; his parents Montie and Teresa Morgan of Kansas City, Missouri; brother Garrett Morgan of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; sister Katherine Landes and husband Jeremy, and their children Emma and David, of Chandler, Arizona.
Memorial donations may be sent to the “Evan James Morgan Memorial Fund” established to help pay for medical expenses and education costs for his daughters. Checks may be sent to PO Box 102326, Denver, CO 80250. Alternatively, donations may be made to the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, in memory of Evan Morgan.
If you need help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).