Anna Moran
Anna Moran died at Winchester District Memorial Hospital on July 18, 2003. She was 99.
She was born on May 27, 1904 in Cahore, a small Irish settlement southwest of Crysler. She was the third of nine children of Algeva Maude Hunter and Christopher Johnstone. She was the last surviving member of her family.
She fascinated her family with stories of growing up on the farm after the turn of the last century. As part of a family of nine children, there were always lots of chores to do. She was known as a hard worker at an early age, and left school after Grade 8 to work on the farm. She was a good student and always regretted not having the opportunity to further her education.
She married Arthur Moran in 1923 and together they had two children: Harold born in 1926 and Malcolm "Bud" born in 1931. The family farmed near Crysler until 1943 when they moved to the Brinston area. They moved into the village of Brinston in 1953 where Anna lived until the late 1980s, when she moved to Iroquois. She was a resident of Iroquois until April of 2003, when declining health forced her to move to the Dundas Manor Nursing Home in Winchester.
She was a talented seamstress and quilter. She took in sewing, sewed for herself and her family, and made many beautiful quilts. She leaves her family with many memories including donuts cooking on the top of the stove, dozens of cookies laid out on brown paper on the kitchen table, the best-ever homemade apple pies, evenings of euchre games at the kitchen table when family and friends would come to visit, and babysitting her great-grandchildren well into her 80s.
Her family was always interested in her wonderful stories of such things as cutting ice from the river and storing it in the ice house to use in the summer; making homemade ice cream on the front porch of the farm house; coming home with the horse and cutter after a dance and being thrown out of the cutter into the snow; being a teenager driving the family car and not being able to go far because there weren't many roads; and driving with Arthur and the boys to her brother George T's house after an ice storm and the boys having great fun because they would frequently have to push the car out of the ditch. She was a strong-willed individual who was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was a life member of the Matilda Women's Institute.
She is survived by her daughters-in-law Lois Moran of Winchester and Edna Moran of Vankleek Hill. She will be fondly remembered by grandchildren Chris (Pam) Moran; Karen (Glenn) Dawson; Brian (Joanne) Moran; Barbara (David) Tait; Mike (Brenda) Moran; Pat (Bonnie) Moran; Linda (Jack) Griffith; Roger (Shelley) Moran; Rhonda (Ken) McRae; Debbie (Doug) Barton; and great-grandchildren Mark Moran; Jonas, Spencer and Jared Dawson; Scott and Blain Moran; Ian, Evan and Alix Tait; Craig, Colin, and Jordan Moran; James and Conor Moran; Dane, Ryan and Ashley Griffith; Taylor, Kailey, and Ferren Leigh Moran; Meghan and Shanna McRae; and Jan and Karla Barton.
She was predeceased by husband Arthur; sons Harold and Malcolm "Bud"; sisters Vera Robertson, Helen Muir, Mabel Rushford and Ethel Johnstone; and brothers Frank, George T., Miles and Charlie Ed Johnstone. She is also survived by nieces and nephews.
Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home in Iroquois on July 23. The funeral service was held on the same day at the funeral home, with Father Rob Arsenault officiating. Interment of cremated remains was at St. Anne's Cemetery in Dixon's Corners.
Pallbearers were grandsons Chris, Brian, Mike and Pat Moran. Donations to Winchester District Memorial Hospital would be appreciated by the family.