David Dorsey Moran

David Dorsey Moran was born on May 3, 1928, in Greensboro, NC. He died peacefully on January 13, 2025, in Keene, NH. He grew up in Washington, DC and lived in the area for the first half of his life. His parents were William Allen Moran and Hazel Amanda Wray.

David served as an MP in the army after high school, which suited him well as he was muscular and athletic and had the Irish gift of gab. He went to college on the GI Bill, first Syracuse University and then George Washington University. He later completed his master’s degree in education from SIU Edwardsville. David worked as a high school English teacher for many years and then taught creative writing at Keene State College. David also taught English in China and spent a few years traveling around the world, stopping for long stays in France, Thailand, Ecuador, Yugoslavia, and England as well as many areas around the United States.

David was always involved in sports, playing for his Coolidge High School football (linebacker) and baseball (shortstop) teams, serving as team captain. He played tennis semi-professionally for many years. During the summers, he was the playground director for the Summer in The Parks program. Later in life, in Keene, he worked for an employment placement program and for a fuel assistance program. David was active at the Keene Senior Center and was an avid bridge player. He also enjoyed contra dancing. He was a lifelong champion of human and civil rights. He was also a lifelong vegetarian.

David loved poetry and writing. His house overflowed with books and guests, including neighbors, visitors from foreign lands, and friends from the local Unitarian church. He kept a journal of his many travels and wrote poetry. David, like his father, was an Irish tenor and enjoyed singing “Oh, Danny Boy” and “Sweet Molly Malone.” He was singing up until his very last days. He had a very long and full life. He is sorely missed by his family and friends.

He was predeceased by his sister, Dixie Bortz Moran Dogget and by his son, Mark Allen Moran.

David is survived by his beloved life partner, Dottie Ledwith; his children, Timi McGary, Tammy Parks, and Eric Moran; his nephew, William Bortz; and grandchildren, Noah Sax, Zachary, Matthew, and William Parks and Nathalia, Joshua, and Isabella Moran. He spent the last fifty years of his life in the Keene area having built a cabin by hand in Gilsum, NH.