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'Everybody's grandmother' Dorothy Morgan dies at 85 By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune The retail industry lost its queen when Dorothy Morgan, 85, died Monday, say friends and coworkers. The sales clerk in Black Bird Shopping Center's clothing department "had a little bit of a regal bearing," recalls Betty Hill of Medford, who's shopped at Black Bird for 29 years. "She was such an institution," Hill says. "My husband has always bought his jeans at Black Bird." The sister of Lee Hobbs, who founded Black Bird in 1965, Morgan began her career at the general merchandise store at the age of 53. She had lived in the Rogue Valley since 1942. "She was just Aunt Dorothy to everybody," says Marie Wharton, who handles the store's advertising. The petite white-haired woman, who wandered through the merchandise sporting a tape measure around her neck, had a gracious air about her, colleagues say. Customers told her she looked like the Queen of England. She kept the clothing department tidy and well-stocked, and all ages found her friendly and approachable, coworkers remember. Wharton says she was inspired by Morgan's sales and work ethic. "One of the things she taught me was presentation of the product," says Wharton, who was trained by Morgan in 1975. But it was the individualized attention that won customers over, she says. "People would come in and ask for her by name, and you just don't see that anymore," she says, adding that personal service is the key to a small business' survival. "She was very inspiring, very wise," Wharton says. "She was a real people person." Customers agree. "She was so gracious," Hill says. "She was more like someone you had known all your life. She wanted to make sure you didn't leave the store feeling neglected. She was everybody's grandmother." Friends and customers may remember Morgan during a funeral service planned for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Conger-Morris Medford Chapel. (Dorothy Morgan's obituary appears on Page 11A) Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.