Hundreds mourn Bicycle Bob in Edmond
Hundreds gather to mourn Bicycle Bob
Published: October 27, 2009
EDMOND — Dwite A. Morgan is no longer homeless. His body has a final resting place under a large pine tree.
Morgan, known by many as Bicycle Bob, was buried Monday at the city’s Gracelawn Cemetery — eight days after he was found stabbed and beaten in his makeshift home under the open sky in downtown Edmond. He is buried next to his late grandmother, Grace Mae Ballard, who tried to raise Morgan when he was young. He spent most of his life on the streets. Family members said he struggled with mental illness. Almost 350 people from all walks of life attended the service for Morgan, 54. Although many of them knew little about Morgan, almost everyone had a story about the homeless man who rode his bicycle through the streets of Edmond, always wearing a coat no matter how hot or how cold the weather. The stories about Morgan made people laugh and cry during the service. Everything for Morgan’s funeral was donated so he could have a proper burial. One of his bicycles stood by his light tan casket draped with orange roses and yellow carnations. A bicycle wheel, covered in yellow flowers, stood opposite the white bicycle with an evidence tag attached. Eight Edmond police officers were pallbearers. Other police officers were scattered throughout the sanctuary. Each of the officers had a story about Morgan. They had looked after him through the years. Officer Paul Sinclair, a pallbearer, said all the new officers for years got their training on Morgan. When there was a suspicious call, the training officer would take the rookie officer knowing that it was Morgan, said Sinclair, who first met Morgan in 1987. Stories of Morgan spread on Facebook, where four pages in the man’s memory were set up after he died. He had 3,293 friends on those pages just before the funeral began. "Dwite Morgan reminded us that we are a community. He gave us a reason to reach out as a community. For that, we are in his debit,” said the Rev. Jerry Black, associate pastor of Edmond’s First Christian Church, where the funeral was held. The Rev. Chris Shorow, senior pastor at First Christian, said the service would last for days if people were given a chance to tell all their stories about Morgan. "He became a part of our family,” Shorow said.
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