ROCKVILLE - Ben Morlan, 89, of Rockville, Indiana, passed away at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at Harrison's Crossing in Terre Haute.

He was employed by the Ford Motor Co. from 1949 to 2008, serving 39 years with John Alden Sales in Rockville and 20 years with Clinton Ford.

He was born July 13, 1929, in Mecca, Indiana, to the late Alvin E. Morlan and Ellis Kibbe Morlan.

His wife of 61 years, Lorraine Fossi Morlan, whom he married Sept. 19, 1953, in Clinton, preceded him in death Dec. 20, 2014. Survivors include one brother, Alvin Morlan of Rockville; and five nieces. He was preceded in death by his sister, Marjorie Jackman, on Oct. 5, 2011.

He was a 1947 graduate of Mecca High School and served with the U.S. Army at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

He was a member of the Rockville Christian Church, where he served as an elder, Sunday school teacher of the Merry Service Class and chairman of the Missions committee for decades. He ministered and visited with residents at local nursing homes for many years.

He was a member of Parke Masonic Lodge #8, Scottish Rite Valley of Terre Haute, Zorah Shrine of Terre Haute, German Oberlander Club of Terre Haute, American German Club of Florida, charter member of Rockville Elks Lodge #2471, Parke County Historical Society, Toastmasters International serving as welcome chairman, and past president of the Parke County Chamber of Commerce where he annually organized the Red Lehr St. Louis Levee Band concert to raise funds for the Ritz Theatre. He participated in the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival as a tour bus guide and volunteering in the Ham Shack. He was a past president and Paul Harris Fellow of the Rockville Rotary Club. He was a member of the Rockville Cemetery Board and received the Rotary Club's David Troyer Service Award for his work at the Rockville Cemetery, paving the back section and securing monuments for several unmarked graves. He was also a pheasant hunter and enjoyed running his beagle dogs.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at Gooch Funeral Home, 112 W. Howard St., Rockville, with Pastor Jack E. Hopkins officiating. Burial will follow at Memory Garden Cemetery, Rockville. Visitation is from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Gooch Funeral Home.

Memorials, should friends so desire, may be made to the Rockville Christian Church, 292 U.S. Highway 36, Rockville, IN 47872; or Mecca ARABS, PO Box 4, Mecca, IN 47860, in his memory. Online condolences may be shared at:

www.goochfuneralhome.com