Robert T. (Bob) Morgan, the former Vineyard legislative liaison who was a familiar, ubiquitous presence from Island main streets and waterfronts to the political beach heads of Beacon Hill, died peacefully at home in Edgartown on Jan. 5. He was 84.

During the course of his life Bob Morgan pursued many vocations, including farmer, swordfisherman, sea scalloper, harbor master, charter boat captain and pilot — but he eventually became best known in his role as a local politician and civic leader. He advocated the first zoning laws on the Vineyard; he helped save Katama Farm and the Edgartown Air Park, and he was past president of the Edgartown Boys’ and Girls’ Club. He was a longtime Dukes County commissioner, a member of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and a member of the Edgartown planning board, board of health and board of appeals. He served as the Island legislative liaison from 1985 to 1992, under both former Cape and Islands Rep. Rick Cahoon and current Rep. Eric T. Turkington.

“I’m just a sentimental slob about things like the hall of flags,” Mr. Morgan told a Gazette reporter who followed him around the state house for a day in 1985. “I almost feel like sometimes I should be paying someone to be here, rather than getting paid.”

Informed by his early background on the waterfront, Mr. Morgan was a tireless advocate on Beacon Hill for the rights of fishermen. In 1990 he helped Island conch fishermen resolve a war with draggermen on Nantucket Sound. Mr. Morgan assisted the fishermen in preparing a petition for the state legislature that led to a ban on night fishing in the Sound.

He often looked back on his years of fishing as some of the best years of his life. “It was a fun time. We did very well. I don’t know if there was any other profession on the Vineyard that you could make so much money at. We ate well and there was never a question of food,” he told the Gazette in an interview in 1993.

Bob Morgan was born on the Island on July 13, 1923, the son of Capt. Fred B. Morgan Sr. and Doris Taylor Morgan of Edgartown. His grandparents were Capt. John E. Morgan and Susan M. Morgan of Noank, Conn., and Ralph S. Taylor and Antoinette Redding Taylor of Edgartown.

He grew up on School street in Edgartown in a time when most of the year-round residents lived downtown. His classmates, relatives and friends were next door, just around the corner or up the street. Every adult and every merchant knew every kid in town and their families. He recalled it was a strong deterrent to mischief when your misdeeds reached home before you did.

As a young boy he would rise at dawn and wait for Al Prada to pick him up in the milk truck for deliveries. Sometimes Al would let him drive the truck. As a teenager he would be up at dawn, this time waiting for Al Prada or Stuart Fuller to take him duck hunting at the Edgartown Great Pond.

His mother died when he was 16, an event that affected him profoundly.

His Grandma (Net) Taylor moved in and helped to raise the young family, providing a source of strength and comfort to Bob that lasted well into his adult years.

He attended schools in Edgartown. He loved school, but more for the social life than the studies. He played basketball, participated in many activities and enjoyed the company of girls. In 1941 he played on a basketball team that won the Cape and Islands tournament, coached by the late Joseph Robichau.

He graduated from the Edgartown High School in June of 1941. On Jan. 17, 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps as an enlisted man. He returned home for Christmas in 1945 wearing captain bars.

After the war he became involved in the Edgartown Air Park and flew with Steve Gentle Sr. He bought a retired fighter plane from Canada and thrilled at flying it over Vineyard Sound.

Then he and his friend Sam Leighton drove across the country and stopped in Southern California where they took jobs on a banana boat to South America and back.

In 1951 he married Virginia Coerr. The marriage ended in divorce in 1954.

In the years that followed he co-owned and operated the Depot Corner service station, owned and farmed the John Prada farm in Edgartown, worked as a farm manager at Seven Gates Farm in West Tisbury, and moved to Menemsha to go swordfishing with Capt. Walter Manning and Danny Gaines on the Bozo. He served as Menemsha harbor master, skippered private yachts, flew planes for Burnham (Bud) Litchfield at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, and sold Jeeps at Old Colony Motors in Edgartown.

In 1958 he became an air traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration. He was stationed at Nantucket and at Otis Air Force base on Upper Cape Cod. He earned many commendations for excellent work.

In 1962 he married Althea L. (Allouise) Waller of Edgartown. They built a home on Crocker Drive while Bob continued to work for the FAA. They had three children. When commuting became difficult due to his family life, Bob returned to Edgartown in 1968.

He served as Edgartown harbor master, operated a charter air service, and owned and managed Edgartown Marine Inc. He owned and operated a 46-foot, 1938 Brooklyn-built party fishing boat named the Ranger which he used for fishing expeditions and parties. He and his waterfront cohort, the late Jesse Morgan (“unrelated by name but not by nature,” the Gazette reported), ran free lunchtime cruises for senior citizens on board the Ranger that were legendary.

He was deeply involved in community service and was a passionate advocate for conservation, both of the land and of the Vineyard way of life.

But even with so many community commitments, he found time for family and friends. He loved spending time with his grandchildren in his workshop, building them beautiful wooden airplanes for toys. He liked to talk about politics, history and tell stories from the old days.

One favorite was the day he and his brother Ted saved the Gazette by calling the fire department after they saw smoke coming from the building, which they could see from their kitchen window on School street. Gazette publishers Henry Beetle and Elizabeth Bowie Hough thanked him with a new ball, bat and glove from Hall’s department store on Main street.

At the time of his death last week, Bob was surrounded by his loving family and his devoted friends Angelina Braga and Marcelo Frias.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, two daughters, Jennifer of Edgartown, and Amy and her husband Jon Simmons of Marlboro; a son Rob and his wife Elizabeth of Shelburne Falls; grandchildren Heather Jardin of Vineyard Haven, Brandon Francis of Edgartown and Charlotte and Benjamin Simmons of Marlboro; a brother Fred B. (Ted) Morgan Jr. and a sister Jean Bryant, both of Edgartown. He is also survived by his aunt, 98-year-old Charlotte Reynolds Taylor of Niantic, Conn. He was predeceased by his daughter Lynne Jardin of Edgartown.

A memorial service will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown. Immediately following the service a reception will be held downstairs at the church.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Edgartown Ambulance Association, P.O. Box 1064, Edgartown MA 02539, or to the Edgartown Patrolman’s Association, P.O. Box 1118, Edgartown MA 02539.

Althea Morgan contributed to this obituary.