Morgan Jensen Ririe Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Morgan Jensen Ririe passed peacefully into eternity early in the morning of May 3, 2020, after battling several difficult and challenging health issues. He was born in the small town of Magrath, in southern Alberta Canada on December 12, 1928, to Lloyd and Cleo Barbara (Jensen) Ririe. He was the oldest of their four children, followed by Barbara Louise, Rogers Christian, and Paul Jensen Ririe. Unable to find meaningful employment during the Great Depression, Lloyd moved his family north to Calgary where Morgan attended several grades of school before returning to Magrath High School where he served as student body president his senior year. Shortly after graduation, his father moved the family again, this time to Provo, Utah, so his children could attend Brigham Young University, where Morgan was introduced to his sweetheart, a beautiful young coed from Hayward, California, named Helen “Jean” Emerson. They married in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 6, 1951, before moving to Seattle where Morgan was accepted into dental school at the University of Washington. During his junior year, he was drafted as a Captain into the U.S. Air Force where, after completing his DDS degree in 1955, he served as a dentist for three years following the Korean conflict at Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, California. In 1958 he settled his growing family in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, where he worked in private practice for more than forty-six years. Morgan had a deep and abiding faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ that grew out of a rich heritage rooted in conviction and testimony. As one of the early LDS pioneers of Sonoma County, Morgan served tirelessly in a diverse field of callings including MIA superintendent, a counselor in two bishoprics, high councilman, a counselor in the Santa Rosa stake presidency, regional welfare agent, and most recently as the director of the Santa Rosa Family History center. But the callings he cherished and revered the most were as a devoted husband and father to his wife and six children whom he loved more than life itself. Morgan also loved the people he served, though was admittedly a bit shy at introductions or even reuniting with old friends whose faces he knew well, occasionally names didn’t come to mind quite as fast as he would’ve liked. So, it wasn’t uncommon to be affectionately called “George” in an awkward moment when he couldn’t immediately recall someone’s name. Despite a thriving dental practice and home within the Santa Rosa suburbs, Morgan never forgot his rural provincial heritage and was always a Canadian farmer at heart. Often nick-named “Dr. Doolittle,” Morgan loved animals almost as much as people and raised several cats, chickens, tropical fish, ducks, partridges, bees, rabbits, pigeons, a dog, canaries and had a genuine soft spot in his heart for just about any stray or injured animal that might limp into the yard on Creekside Road. Once when a baby crow was rescued from the gutter, he patched it up, nursed it to health and affectionately named it “Bishop”, who grew to become a cherished family pet. Morgan was an avid genealogist who spent countless hours of volunteer service helping others discover their own unique family histories. To him genealogy was far more than a hobby where names and dates were merely scribbled on paper; rather each name represented an individual whose life had purpose and profound meaning every bit as important as our own. Through example and personal insights, he nobly taught his posterity what it means to reverence and respect our heritage and the countless lives for whom the Ririe name represents. On November 29, 2010, his heart was forever broken at the passing of his “angel on earth,” wife Jean. After fifty-nine years of marriage and the foundation of their own family legacy, scarcely a day went by where he wouldn’t choke back tears and express how much he missed and longed to be with her once again. Morgan was preceded in death by his sweet wife Helen Jean (Emerson) Ririe, his parents Lloyd and Cleo and brothers Rogers and Paul. He is survived by his sister Barbara Louise (Ririe) Anderson of Lehi, Utah, his six children, Richard Scott Ririe (Sandra) of Battle Ground, Washington, Ronald Brent Ririe (Beverly) of Orem, Utah, Robert Bruce Ririe of Lompoc, California, Randall Mark Ririe (Christine) of Santa Rosa, California, Carolyn Jeanette Peterson (Robert) of Lehi, Utah, and Rodney Emerson Ririe (Kimberly) of Orem, Utah, as well as his 20 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren. Our family wishes to express our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude to our sister Carolyn, who years ago reassured her dying mother she would look after her dad. In February 2016, Robert and Carolyn Peterson lovingly and graciously opened their Lehi, Utah home to Morgan and have been his devoted, full-time care givers ever since. Out of concern for others during the COVID-19 pandemic and in honoring our father’s wishes, funeral services will not be held. A private family viewing is scheduled prior to his interment at Bennett Valley Cemetery in Santa Rosa where he will be laid to rest next to his sweetheart. We express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the compassionate and capable hands at both Utah Valley Mortuary in Lindon, Utah, and Daniels Chapel of the Roses in Santa Rosa, California, for the tender care they have provided our family and father on his final journey home.

Morgan Jensen Ririe

December 12, 1928 - May 3, 2020

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