Morgan Bowman Shipley Jr, 94, of Vero Beach Florida passed away peacefully on January 10, 2017. He was born to the late Morgan Bowman Shipley Sr. and Anna Marie Shipley on December 27, 1922 in Brownsville Pa. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with honors in 1947 after serving for 18 months as Army Captain of the Blood and Fire 63rd D Infantry Division in the Central Europe and Rhineland Campaign during WWII in France, Germany, and Belgium. He received two purple hearts, two bronze stars with clusters for heroism, and two battle stars. His 254th regiment received a unit citation for outstanding performance cutting off Colmar from the Rhine in one of the hardest and bloodiest campaigns of the whole war. He was a member of "the greatest generation".
Bowman married the late Jean Mildred Winter of Miami, Florida in 1947 and resided in Uniontown, Pa. Bowman was the CEO and President of the family owned and operated trucking company, Atlantic Freight Lines, in Uniontown until its sale in 1960. He became the executive vice president of Cooper-Jarret Freight Lines where he resided with his family in Short Hills, NJ. After retiring from the trucking industry he obtained his commercial real estate license and sold properties in northeast NJ.
While living in Short Hills, "Bow" was a member of the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus Chapter. He was an active alumni member in his Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and the Shipley's of Maryland Ancestry Organization. Bow and his wife were members of the Rock Spring country club in West Orange, NJ and continued his love of golf, paddle tennis, and bridge.
In 1982, the Shipley's built a vacation home in Martha's Vineyard in Waterview Farm and were charter members of the Farm Neck Golf Club. Bow was President of the Water View Farm home owners association for several years. He became an avid tennis player and enjoyed boating with his grandchildren on Sengekontacket Pond.
In 1987 they became "snow birds" when they sold their house in N.J., splitting their time between the Vineyard and Vero Beach, FL. They built their home in the Seagrove Community. Bow was active in Holy Cross church and the Vero Beach Country Club. Bow and Jean celebrated 62 years of marriage on August 19, 2007.
Bowman moved into Regency Park Vero Beach in April 2010 where he resided until his death. He was board president for several years and enjoyed many new friendships as an enthusiastic member of daily exercise classes and various activities.
He was predeceased by his sister, Anna Louise Shipley, in 1958; his wife Jean Winter Shipley in 2009; and daughter Sally Ann Shipley in 2010. He is survived by his daughter Susan Downey of Stroudsburg, Pa; his grandchildren, James Russell Downey III of Philadelphia, Pa; Jeffrey Morgan Downey of Pottstown, Pa; Jennifer Winter Downey of Bethlehem, Pa; a great-granddaughter Maeve Downey; and a great-grandson, Gabriel Bowman Downey.
A memorial mass at Holy Cross Catholic Church will be held in the spring with a reception following. Details will be provided at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Glaucoma Foundation, 80 Maiden Lane, Suite 700 New York, N.Y. 10038 www.glaucomafoundation.org