Carolyn “Sue” Morgan, nee Bailey, 71, of Salem, IL, born September 6, 1949, in St. Louis, MO, died Saturday, February 13, 2021. Sue was the daughter of Lloyd Bailey and Thelma “Stormy” Garden-Bailey. She was a wife, proud mother of 4 and grandmother to 10. She was an educator, passionate community supporter and acting Mayor of Salem, IL. Sue Bailey married Bill Morgan on April 10, 1971, falling just shy of 50 years of marriage. After graduating from Salem Community High School in 1967, Sue continued her education at the University of Missouri, Kaskaskia College and Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where she received her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. Sue and Bill both began their teaching careers in Crossville, Illinois, where Sue taught first grade for three years. Sue and Bill then moved back home to Salem, with Sue being employed as the new 1st grade teacher at Hawthorn Elementary School. Sue taught for a total of 42 years. For 27 of those years, Sue taught 1st grade, K+ and Reading Recovery at Hawthorn. The other 16 years were spent owning her own preschool, Calico Carousel, and partnering with her 1st cousin, Linda Elwood, to own and operate Teddy Bear Daycare. She began a life of entrepreneurship to be able to stay home with her 4 children, while simultaneously educating Salem’s youth. In 2009, on her 60th birthday, Sue retired from Hawthorn Elementary. During her years at Hawthorn, Sue was the Teachers Union President for 15 years. She raised a significant amount of money to create a state of the art playground for the students and community at Hawthorn Grade School. Sue also spearheaded the S.A.V.E. Organization (Sports and Activities are Vital to Education) to reinstate all non-revenue sports and activities at Salem Community High School, when they were abruptly cut from the budget during the 1992-1993 school year. Sue and a team of volunteers raised over 50,000 dollars and gained Board acceptance to reinstate everything. In addition, Sue never let a student go without clothes, shoes, coats, haircuts, and even a bed to sleep in or a place to stay. If you needed it, she always found a way to get things done for her students and families. Sue took this can-do, make-it-happen attitude to the Salem City Government. In 2013, Sue was elected to the Salem City Council. During her time on the council, Sue made it her mission to make Salem a better place to live, work and raise a family. Salem was her life-long home and she was proud to be from Salem. One of her goals was to make Salem more beautiful and marketable to families and businesses. She did this by overseeing the consistent removal of dilapidated properties throughout the city, as well as several other initiatives to help the beatification of Salem. She also was very proud to help bring the future of soccer complex to Salem and add the beautiful sign at the entrance to Salem, amongst many other projects. The City of Salem citizens were always her first priority. In 2019, she transitioned from city council woman to the Mayor of Salem. She was the first woman to become the Mayor of Salem. Her family and friends were all very proud of “our Mayor” and her continued commitment to the people of Salem. Although Sue loved her colleagues and community, she fiercely loved her family and all her friends that became family. Her family was everything to her and it reflected in her daily routine. Sue never went through a day without checking in with all of her children and grandchildren. She would drop everything to attend sporting events, plays, dance recitals, band concerts, banquets, and swim lessons. You name it and she was there, even if you lived 1, 516 miles away. If you needed her, she was by your side. She was there to hold you in the hard times and celebrate with you during the good times. Every chance she had to babysit or spend the day with her kids and grandkids, she was in. She shared a friendship and love with her family that most people dream about. Sue Morgan was preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd and Thelma “Stormy”, nee Derifield, Bailey, half brothers, Charles Garden; John Garden and Richard Garden; Father-in-law, Walter Henegar Surviving Sue are her husband, William “Bill” Morgan; a daughter, Julie (Mike) Wolfe; a son, Jeff (Emily) Morgan; a daughter, Jane Range; a son, John (Lindsay) Morgan; 10 grandchildren, Blake Wolfe, Bailey Wolfe, Taylor Morgan, Averie Morgan, Chase Morgan, Griffin Range, Ellie Range, Gavin Range, Lillian Morgan and Isla Morgan; a Mother-in-law, Evelyn Henegar; a sister-in-law, Bobbie Baguhn; a sister-in-law, Sharon (Merlyn) Fish, and a brother-in-law, Rick (Susie) Henegar and various nieces, nephews and cousins. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a new non-profit organization created in Sue’s name called, Sue’s Kids. The mission of Sue’s Kids will be to help underprivileged students and their families get the extra help needed to allow an equal education opportunity. This was Sue’s passion. She wanted every child to have the opportunity for a proper education and loved helping others that were down on their luck or needed extra love. To donate to Sue’s Kids Charity, send checks to Marion County Savings Bank at 301 W. Main in Salem or via PayPal at [email protected] . Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.crousefh.com Visitation/Celebration of Life: Friends may visit with the family from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, February 20, 2021, and join us for a celebration of Sue’s life immediately following at 5:00 p.m. Sue loved color with her favorite being red. Please join with us in wearing colorful clothes to help fill the sanctuary with joy and happiness. All events take place at Grace United Methodist Church located at 116 East Schwartz in Salem, IL. Stan Morrison will be officiating the ceremony. Standard CDC guidelines, including masks and social distancing. Everyone is welcome to join us for a light dinner at the Elks Club immediately following the ceremony. It is located at 315 N. Broadway, Salem, IL. We would love to hear your memories of Sue. To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Sue Morgan, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.