Walter T. Morey's Obituary
Walter Thomas Morey, attorney and former Chairman of the Board of Soy Capital Bank, died on March 18, 2009.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 10:30 am at the First Presbyterian Church, 204 West Prairie, Decatur. Visitation will be Friday, March 20, from 5-7 pm at Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home, 2091 North Oakland Ave., Decatur. Private family interment will be in Fairlawn Cemetery.
Walter was a 1936 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School. In 1940 he graduated from the University of Illinois and was elected President of the Student Senate, Cadet Colonel of the ROTC, and Business Manager of the Illio. He was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.
In 1941, Walter’s law studies at Harvard were interrupted by the outbreak of WWII. He served three years of active duty with the 36th Field Artillery in North Africa, Italy and France. Major Morey’s unit was the first to fire on the mainland of Europe in 1943. He was decorated with the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit and three French Croix de Guerre, awarded by the French Government.
In November 1945, Major Morey returned home and married Dorothy Page Huff.
In 1947, Walter graduated from Harvard Law School and returned to Decatur to begin work as a legal counsel for the A.E. Staley Company. At the outbreak of the Korean War, he served as a battalion commander in Korea until 1951. Upon his return to Decatur, he practiced law alongside his father. In 1955 he organized Soy Capital Bank and five years later he founded Security Savings and Loan. He was a partner in the development of Brettwood Village Shopping Center.
He was elected to the Decatur City Council in 1960 and served six years. Over the course of his profession, Walter was honored to be a Millikin Trustee and member of the University of Illinois President’s Council. He served as president of the Decatur Bar Association, Rotary, United Way of Macon County and the American Red Cross. He served as an elder at First Presbyterian Church. After 50 years of tireless work and energy, he retired in 2005.
Walter was an avid lover of history, travel, adventure and Tabasco sauce. His sense of humor and challenge for others to succeed will always be remembered.
Walter’s family includes his wife of sixty-three years, Dorothy; his three daughters, Madelyn Morey of Austin, Texas; Cynthia Smith and her husband Robert C. Smith of Decatur; Marcia Morey of Durham, North Carolina; and his sister, Barbara Morey Shade of Decatur. His grandchildren: Sean and Cassandra Smith of Houston, Texas; Trevor Smith and Nathan Smith of Decatur; Rob and Leslie Gandy; Page Gandy and Jamie Kerr and great-grandson, Hudson, all of Texas.
The family wishes to thank and extends our deepest appreciation to Tina, Cynthia, Terri, George, Donna and Dr. Stephen Goetter and the magnificent staff at Decatur Memorial Hospital.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Boy Scouts of America, Lincoln Trails Council or to the Walter T. Morey Scholarship at Millikin University.
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