Yvonne Marie (Dreisbach) Morgan

Yvonne Marie (Dreisbach) Morgan, a native and enthusiastic booster of Lewisburg, passed away Friday, January 25th, at Geisinger Medical Center in the company of her family.

Yvonne was born in Lewisburg in 1950 to Ralph and Marguerite (Murphy) Dreisbach and graduated from Lewisburg Area High School in 1968 having supplemented her academic achievements with a stint as the Green Dragon mascot.

Yvonne completed her studies at the Philadelphia General Hospital School of Nursing in 1975, stayed on at the hospital to work in the emergency department, and while there met a young surgeon, James W. Morgan, Jr., to whom she would eventually be married for 41 years. When Jim, then an Army Major, was stationed in Berlin, Germany, in 1977, Yvonne shared her vim and vigor with people on both sides of Checkpoint Charlie, an experience she remembered fondly and recounted often for the rest of her life.

She and her family, now including her sons James and Andrew, returned to the Lewisburg area in 1982 and added a daughter, Alexandra, shortly thereafter. Yvonne helped Jim establish his surgical office, set a standard of compassionate excellence, and always remained proud of the stamp she put on the practice.

She devoted her considerable energies to a variety of activities to better her beloved community, including founding what would become the Donald Heiter Community Center, serving several terms on the Lewisburg Borough Council, helming the Union County Republican Committee, being instrumental in the creation of the Lewisburg Downtown Partnership and painting her Victorian home on South Third Street a vibrant purple, not once but three times.

Yvonne was not so much a person as a force of nature, whose open heart and fierce loyalty were apparent to everyone she encountered. She held few opinions lightly and was a zealous advocate for each and every thing that was important to her, from the proper way to prepare a steak (on a grill, with only sea salt), to the superiority of Bodacious corn, to the benefits of taking an active interest in the world around her. Yvonne’s deepest passion laid in aiding, advancing and comforting her children, whose interests she would defend with a ferocity that fell somewhere between mother bear and Viking warrior. Her only prejudice was against prejudiced people, and possibly against those who do not like cheese.

Yvonne is survived by her husband Jim Morgan, her son James and his wife Elsa of Westport, Connecticut, her son Andrew and his wife Amanda of Pittsburgh, her daughter Alexandra of Lewisburg, her sister Rebecca Brouse and her husband Curt of Montandon, and five adoring grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held in her honor at Lewisburg Alliance Church on Supplee Mill Road on Saturday, February 2nd at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Evangelical Community Hospital, the Donald Heiter Community Center or the local charity of your choice.

The family is being assisted by Cronrath-Grenoble Funeral Home, South Second and St. Louis Streets, Lewisburg.

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