Karen Morgan, a longtime Rockville Centre resident and former American Airlines flight attendant, died peacefully at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on Aug. 26. She was 77.
Born Aug. 10, 1949, in Queens to Edward and Helen Colgan, Morgan grew up in Cambria Heights as the oldest of three children, the big sister to Ellen and Edward. Her childhood was filled with family and friends, many of whom remained close throughout her life.
“She was always surrounded by family and friends,” her son Matt Morgan said. “They were just like part of the family. We were always getting together.”
Morgan completed flight attendant training and began her career with American Airlines in 1972, traveling the world and forming friendships along the way. But while her job took her around the globe, she made a point of being there for her three sons, Michael, Matthew and Douglas.
For her children, the distance that came with her job could sometimes be difficult. When she left for overnight trips, Karen found a way to make the separation feel a little smaller. She would tell Matt to look out the window at the moon, reminding him that wherever she was, they could both see the same moon and, as long as they could see it, they were never really that far apart.
“When we were younger, she used to turn around,” Matt Morgan recalled. “She would just fly and come back and she would sleep at home that night.”
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, Morgan was working as a flight attendant when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed in Belle Harbor on the Rockaway Peninsula on Nov. 12, 2001. The flight and crew were ones she regularly worked with on trips to Santo Domingo. That day, however, she had traded assignments and was flying to São Paulo, Brazil, instead.
The family initially had no way of knowing she was safe.
“We didn’t really even know because we couldn’t get in touch with her,” Matthew recalled. “It was just crazy.”
Morgan had met her future husband, Jack, through family friends, and the couple married May 28, 1977. They moved to Rockville Centre in 1980 and raised three sons, Michael, Matthew and Douglas. They were married for 49 years.
Matthew described his mother as welcoming and generous, someone who became friends with nearly everyone she encountered.
“She was everybody’s friend,” he said. “She became friends with the people that worked at the supermarket or whatever, you know, over the years. The mailman, whatever.”
At home, Morgan brought the same warmth and humor to raising her children. Matthew recalled simple activities that became lasting memories, including sitting on the deck with buckets of water and paint brushes so the boys could pretend to paint without making a mess.
“I’d say her favorite time of her whole life was when we were little kids, being a mom of little kids,” he said.
After retiring from American Airlines in 2013, Morgan enjoyed spending time with family and friends, going to the beach, gardening, dining out and participating in local clubs. She also cherished becoming a grandmother to Sophia, Shane, Theodore and Colin.
“She loved it,” Matthew said of being Nana. “That was probably her other second favorite.”
Even after being diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2019, Matthew said his mother remained positive and refused to let the illness define her.
“She didn’t let it hold her back,” he said.
She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends. She was predeceased by her sister, Ellen.
“She’s a caretaker of everybody,” Matthew said. “She always... Every neighbor... She became friends with every single neighbor.”
