Lawrence Lee Morton, who began working in his family-owned moving company in the early 1920s and helped make it one of Baltimore's most successful and popular movers, died Sunday of heart failure at St. Agnes HealthCare.

A lifelong Baltimore resident, Mr. Morton, 91, began work at the William Morton and Sons moving company when he was a teen-ager, working with his father, William, at the Druid Hill Avenue business.

He took over his father's business in 1936, and the renamed Lawrence Morton Express Inc. flourished, with 10 trucks and more than 20 employees. The business moved to nearby Francis Street.

"He had a good attitude and was a good teacher in moving because he learned that from his father," said his son, William "Bill" Morton, who worked with his father for several decades.

The Lawrence Morton Express Inc. worked only in Baltimore, and the business is believed to have been the city's first African-American moving company. It was known throughout the black community for its efficiency.

And for its care in moving pianos.

"Other moving companies would call us to move pianos for them," the son said. "That's what they did best."

Mr. Morton was short, squat, "built like a ball" and extremely strong, his son said. He and three or four of his crew could easily haul a 700- to 800-pound piano up three flights of stairs.

"He showed a lot of other people how to step a piano," Bill Morton said, referring to the delicate and precise skill of piano-handling.

He also was known for strapping bureaus and chests of drawers to his back and carrying them up flights of stairs.

In the early days of the business, Mr. Morton, who attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, and his father used a horse and wagon for moving.

"At first, they couldn't afford a truck. But after that, they used solid tire trucks," Bill Morton said, referring to the tires made of solid rubber that required no air. "He liked doing the work he did, and they blossomed."

When he grew older, Mr. Morton maintained his strength, although he no longer did many of the heavier moves. When he was 75, he and one crew member carried an upright piano during a move, according to another son, Larry Morton of Baltimore.

"But he was just showing off then," he said.

Mr. Morton retired about 1994.

For more than 70 years, Mr. Morton belonged to First Baptist Church, 521 N. Caroline St., where services are scheduled for noon Saturday.

Mr. Morton married Mary Pierce in 1923; she died in 1988. He is survived by his second wife, the former Theresa Kess, whom he married in 1989; two other sons, Lawrence Morton Jr. and Clarence Lee Morton, both of Baltimore; two daughters, Grace Dixon of Columbia and Dr. Delores Spriggs of Baltimore; a sister, Gladys Griffin of Baltimore; 30 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and 15 great-great-grandchildren.

Pub Date: 3/17/99