Darla Dee Morgan Gurley

    Darla Dee Morgan was born to Vivian (Walker) Morgan and Bruce Morgan at Herrin Hospital on September 13, 1941, joining her older brother Alan (D: 10/27/2022). Later, her sister, Debby, joined the family. The first 20 years of her life, she lived in several different places in and around Williamson County, Illinois (south of Marion, north of Herrin, Carterville, and Crainville). She enjoyed horseback riding, swimming at Carterville Beach, and hanging out with her many friends, including Betty, Joetta, Judy, and Janet. She spent a lot of time at the roller rink and once even saw Jerry Lee Lewis there. She loved music. Growing up around lots of family meant many large get-togethers. She especially enjoyed girl time with cousins Devona, Sharon, and Carol. According to Cousin Claudette, she spent more than a few minutes doing cartwheels down the street with perfectly straight legs. Darla claimed she only got in trouble once in her childhood. In high school, she participated in Future Homemakers of America, Lionette Committee, and Girls’ Athletic Association. She graduated from Carterville High School in 1959.

    In her early adult life, she worked as a bookkeeper at the local telephone company and then married Dale Gurley on December 17, 1962. The Navy took them briefly to Philadelphia and then to Anaheim, California (with a short stint in San Diego), in 1964. Here she joined First Baptist Church. This is where #1 daughter Dee Ann was born. Thank goodness cousin Loretta (Frank) Crosson lived there and was able to help her, as Dale was in Vietnam. At one point, they lived in a trailer park with a pool. She must have thought she was in heaven, but first she had to teach Dee Ann to swim so she could enjoy herself.

    In 1969, they moved to Fort Dodge, Iowa. She was an active member of the “Little Church in the Cornfield”, Central Baptist Church. She typed the weekly bulletin, helped with Sunday School, and assisted with Vacation Bible School. Saturdays, when she went to church to copy the bulletin, she would sneak some time to play the piano. There was a local park with a creek (it also had a good hill for sledding in the winter) and a pool close by to get some sunshine and swimming. Mostly, she was a stay-at-home mom, as this was where her favorite second daughter, Denise, was born. She was also a foster mom to at least four different children at different times.

    The Navy then took them back to California in 1973, first to Long Beach and then Anaheim. Here she joined Euclid Street Baptist church. She enjoyed playing volleyball with a church group once a week, swimming at the pool and ocean whenever she could find the time, and enjoyed playing cards with friends. A top-notch Chinese Checkers player, she also found time to beat her oldest daughter as often as she could. She picked up knitting and made a beautiful blanket in her favorite blue colors. It was hard to find the time with two small children. She worked as a bookkeeper for a large corporation.

    In 1976, free from active-duty Navy life, they moved back to her beloved Southern Illinois (Harrisburg). She was happy to be back where she belonged, living in the country and close to family and old friends. She was a member of Dorrisville Baptist Church. She wanted a church that had good activities for kids and teens. She worked at Williams and Rea Insurance as a bookkeeper. She got to ride horses, go to big family get-togethers, have Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year's with her family, play volleyball weekly with the park and rec, canoe in lakes and streams, and sunbathe in the backyard. She loved to swim at Lake Thunderhawk and, at least twice, had the lifeguard whistle blown at her for swimming out too far. For many years, she would get up early before the kids to walk the “country mile” with neighbor Georgia (I think it was more like 3 miles).

    In 1989, due to work, they moved to Mayfield, Kentucky. With the kids out on their own, she had more free time. She would get up at 4 AM to swim and do water aerobics before going to her job as a bookkeeper at LeCorp. She took up reading and listening to gospel music. She got a small piano and played often. She joined Trace Creek Baptist Church. She was very active in the church by chaperoning youth trips, working in the church library, hosting dinners for church friends, participating in many Bible studies, and later was a founding member of the quilting group.

    Darla retired at age 68. It was none too early, as grandsons Bryce and Zach were growing up fast. She made many trips to hold and play with them. She also became the seamstress for them, fixing holes in their pajamas or their favorite stuffed animals. She would come in, and Zach would bring her something to sew. Reading, swimming, or just observing them play were favorite activities she did with the boys. One day, Bryce was taking swimming lessons at the Anna pool (learning the butterfly). Mother was in the pool also and taught herself a modified butterfly in her 60s. Bryce thought that was funny.

    She wanted to be an airline stewardess when she was younger, but she was too tall. Now she finally had time to travel. She went to several states and visited waterfalls, friends, and libraries. She always loved maps and planning routes for trips, taking the backroads when possible. She started traveling with Denise on her business trips to places such as Indianapolis and Chicago. While Denise worked, Darla would visit the local libraries, hop on buses to wherever was on her list, and even attend Denise’s business dinners and social activities where she visited with Denise’s colleagues. Sheri became a favorite. She wrote notes and sewed special items for Darla until the day she passed. Mother loved receiving those special gifts. In 2013, Darla moved to Jonesboro, Illinois, to be near Denise and her grandsons. She helped with childcare and picked up the boys from school. She also continued to travel with Denise. Their favorite trip during this time was to San Francisco. She and Denise had some great adventures and found themselves in some funny predicaments. Those stories were the source of lots of laughing for years to come.

    She became an active member of Anna Heights Baptist Church and participated in many different Bible study groups. She had her piano, movies, and books. In 2014, she suffered a stroke. Through her adversity, she was such a positive role model! Her first time walking, she exclaimed, “I am going to beat it!” She worked hard and got strong enough that she could live in an assisted living facility three miles from her childhood home. She continued riding her stationary bike and lifting weights. Her porch door looked out into a field where she could watch the deer and the birds. It was also an area where she had grown up riding horses. She participated in every activity she could, including taking charge of their vast library. She learned to love bingo because she loved the prizes she won! She also enjoyed the musical groups that came to sing. One day, she popped out of her chair and danced to 50’s music! She found people she could help in some way and made many friends. She could turn on the smile and brighten the room. She enjoyed going with her daughters to watch her grandsons compete in basketball, soccer, cross country, and track. Dee Ann took her on many iffy outdoor adventures, including Carterville Beach, Carterville Park, Wolf Creek Causeway, Refuge amphitheater trail, and Giant City. She also took her to John A Logan College, where Darla taught herself to swim again. She built up to seven one- armed freestyle strokes. She was also, once again, in a position to rejoin her beloved Crainville Baptist Church with travel provided by her daughters, Alan, or church friends. Alan would come twice a week to take her on drives and buy her chocolate milkshakes. She traveled to visit her sister, Debby, in Missouri in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Dee Ann took her on an extended trip that included visiting Devona in Sebree, Kentucky; taking a river walk in Owensboro; exploring Louisville and Lexington, where she saw the horses and the Ark; spending time with Loretta; and continuing to Indianapolis to visit her niece, Alexa. And, yes, she had the maps and planned the routes. One time, she wanted ice cream and told the car technology to take her to the Dairy Queen, and off we went. It was a very nice trip.

    COVID was exhausting for everyone, and Darla was no exception. She tried to stay positive and continue her exercises; the loneliness was a lot. Over the next couple of years, her health continued to decline. In 2024, Darla moved to an assisted living facility in Anna, near Denise. For a while, Darla rode the church bus to Anna Heights Baptist Church and participated in all of the activities she could. Denise was able to take Darla to her house, too. In September 2025, Darla was admitted to a nursing home in Marion, Illinois. She continued to participate in activities, playing bingo, listening to groups that came in to sing, meeting people, and trying to help the residents as she could. Up until the second week of May 2026, she rode her stationary bike five times a week and lifted weights twice a week.

    She developed an illness in mid-May that took a toll on her. May 19 th , she was taken to the emergency room. She was just too weak to recover. She passed away peacefully on June 6 th , 2026, at the age of 84. She was probably saying, “I made it!” referring to heaven.

    Dee Ann and Denise have chosen not to have a traditional service. They are planning to honor and remember her by spending time going to Darla’s favorite places and reminiscing together.

    If you want to honor Darla in some way, her daughters suggest the following:

 Go to church (She would love for you to know her Jesus.)

 Hug your family members

 Hang out with your favorite cousins

 Reach out to friends

 Listen to some gospel or 50s

 Take a walk in the woods

 Admire, frolic, or better yet, swim in a body of water

    A memorial monument will be placed at Herrin City Cemetery, near her mother. Just turn by the old oak tree. Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna is in charge of arrangements.