Former Zimmer President Dies In Florida At Age 67

Former Warsaw industrialist J. Alan Morgan, 67, died unexpectedly of heart failure, Saturday, Dec. 28, in his Sarasota, Fla., home.

Morgan, a Warsaw High School and Ball State University graduate, was a former president of Zimmer Inc.

After his graduation from Ball State in 1957, Morgan began working for Zimmer, a company his grandfather, J.O. Zimmer, founded in 1927. Morgan served in a number of management positions with Zimmer before being elevated to president in June 1969 - a post he held until his retirement on Jan. 1, 1979.

Morgan successfully negotiated the sale of the privately owned Warsaw orthopedic company to Bristol-Myers Squibb in January 1972.

In August 2001, Zimmer was spun off as a separate company by Bristol-Myers and is now traded on the New York Stock Exchange as Zimmer Holdings.

A complete obituary appears on page 3A of today's edition.