Polson's Walter Morigeau claims identity at 85
After living his entire life with a last name different from the one found on his birth certificate, Polson’s Walter Morigeau had his last name legally changed last week. (Jeremy Weber/Lake County Leader)
Walter left the Lake County Courthouse a changed man last Thursday, but also walked out as the same man he has always been.
For most of his 85 years, Morigeau thought his surname was legal, but, last week, it became official when he legally changed his last name from Pearson to Morigeau.
The reasoning behind cementing his last name was because he wanted closure.
Morigeau said his “real dad” left his mother, Sylvia, when Morigeau was about 5 years old, during the construction of Kerr Dam.
“She met a guy named Bill (E.W.) Morigeau” who was a member of the Salish Kootenai Tribe, he said.
“He raised me as one of his own,” Morigeau said, describing his “dad” as “quite a guy,” “smart,” and “no lazy guy.”
Although his dad immediately took Morigeau under his care, he didn’t formally adopt him.
All of his records, Morigeau said, had “Morigeau” as his last name.
It wasn’t until he was drafted in 1952 during the Korean War that he realized his name was legally still Walter Pearson.
That’s when Morigeau said he realized there was a problem.
Together, Morigeau and the man who raised him, went to the county attorney’s office, who, at the time, was Jean Turnage.
Turnage informed the older Morigeau that he was unable to legally adopt the man he took on as his son because of their respective races.
“You can’t adopt a white child on the reservation... That’s the way it works,” Morigeau, who is Swedish, said as he recalled Turnage’s words.
That’s when Turnage proposed “the next best thing,” which was conducting a name change.
“He (Turnage) took care of it. How he did, we don’t know,” Morigeau said.
He said he entered the United States Navy with the last name he’d known for most of his life.
“It wasn’t until recently... All my kids are Morigeau, my great-grandkids are Morigeau... But all of a sudden I found out recently” about new legislation that will not allow driver’s licenses as valid identification, effective Jan. 1, 2018.
A dilemma presented itself, Morigeau said. “If I was to get a passport, I’d have to show my birth certificate, which is Pearson. My driver’s license is Morigeau, all my records are Morigeau.” Morigeau wasn’t sure how to explain to officials the difference in last names on proofs of identification.
On the morning of July 20, Morigeau appeared before District Court Judge Deborah Kim Christopher, who, after hearing his testimony, said, “You are now Morigeau.”
After the declaration, applause filled the courtroom, Morigeau’s girlfriend Donna Merola said
“It brightened up the whole courtroom,” Morigeau said.
Morigeau’s attorney, Keith McCurdy, started the hearing by introducing the reason as a name change, he said.
“So I had to go up to the witness stand, swear on the Bible that I’d tell the truth and nothing but the truth, which I did, and he asked me some questions why I wanted a name change,” Morigeau recalled shortly after the hearing.
Going forward, Merola said it could be perceived as “strange” if he went back to being Walter Pearson when his family is all known as Morigeau.
After thinking about it, Morigeau reached out to McCurdy, who is also a friend.
“They (the legal team) looked all over, searched the records, and they could not find that Jean Turnage ever recorded (the name change) in the court,” Morigeau stated.
McCurdy suggested to file for a name change while Morigeau is still alive, because for the family to do so post-mortem is difficult.
“Now it’s legal. I’ll have my new birth certificate that will say Morigeau as his last name,” he said, with Merola adding with a laugh, “at the age of 85.”