The death last weekend of Butler businessman William "Bill" Morgan Jr. marked the end of an era. Morgan was a classic entrepreneur who succeeded by hard work, a vision for the future and boundless energy to get things done.

Surely, there are other entrepreneurs in the Butler area, but none can match Morgan in terms of visibility, diversity of business interests and more than 50 years of success.

Morgan, who died at UPMCPresbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh at 78, began his career in 1953 with the purchase of a diner on the corner of Washington and Jefferson streets. Over time, Morgan's restaurant business grew to include 50 locations. And in growing his restaurant business, Morgan became, in 1955, the fifth Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise holder in the United States. That eventually led to Morgan being commissioned a Kentucky Colonel in 1970.

In 1969, Morgan added his first automatic car wash business. Further diversification found Morgan operating the state's largest fleet of refrigerated trucks hauling mushrooms from the Butler County Mushroom farm.

In 1970, Morgan directed his energies toward real estate and sold his restaurant interests.

The Morgan Building on Diamond Square in Butler is a highly visible downtown landmark and is clear evidence of Morgan's interest in doing things first class.

Buying the former Spaide Shirt Factory building on Brugh Avenue in 1972, Morgan renovated that building into a professional office complex that received a national design award.

Given his entrepreneurial history, it was fitting that the Butler County Chamber of Commerce in 2004 established an entrepreneur-of-the-year award named in honor of Morgan.

And while the Chamber honored Morgan with the award bearing his name, it was Morgan who came to the Chamber's rescue when it faced a serious financial crisis. Morgan, as a former Chamber president, stepped forward and tapped other former Chamber presidents and supporters to retire Chamber debt and place the organization on sound footing.

Morgan's energy, enthusiasm and positive spirit quickly brought together the people and funding to do what needed to be done to save the Chamber.

That Chamber effort exemplifies some of Morgan's many positive attributes. John Kosar, of Burt Hill, noted that Morgan "just breathed energy into you. And he was always looking to build toward the future."

Those qualities were evident as Morgan remained active in recent years with efforts to revitalize Butler's Main Street. Not only was Morgan a doer, but was able to energize others to get things done.

Morgan's most recent real estate venture, the Morgan II building at the intersection of Routes 422, 68 and 38, is a state-of-the-art office building designed for medical professionals. Morgan built that building after the Brugh Avenue building was destroyed by fire in 2003. In 2007, the Butler Health System bought the building to house outpatient services and administrative offices.

Given his financial success and his post-normal-retirement age, Morgan could long ago have retired to Florida or Arizona to play golf and just relax.

And while he did enjoy piloting his own plane and the time spent at his home in Florida, Morgan remained active in Butler and played an important role in the current efforts to remake Butler's downtown.

Morgan's other passion was supporting people struggling with alcoholism, and he was the driving force behind creation of a new facility for the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Addiction Center.

Butler is fortunate to have had many entrepreneurs over the years, and there still are successful entrepreneurs living and working here today. But Morgan, in many ways, was one of a kind.

His legacy lives on in buildings in and around Butler, but his positive energy and vision will be missed.

We may never see another Bill Morgan, but Butler is better off for his having worked and lived here.