Saranne Condon Morse

Born on July 26, 1925 in Streator, Ill., Saranne was the second of four daughters born to Lee and Marguerite Condon. She graduated from Streator High School where she excelled academically and played on the Girls Tennis team. She attended the former Rosary College, a private all-girls school in Chicago, before transferring to the University of Southern California which she attended on scholarship. Saranne graduated from USC in 1946 with a degree in English and the academic distinction, magna cum laude. While attending USC she was hired at NBC Studios in Hollywood in 1944 during World War II where she worked as a page assisting studio guests attending live radio broadcasts featuring some of the most famous names in show business. Her supervisor was a younger man by the name of Larry Morse and soon thereafter began a romance that flourished for nearly 70 years. Married in 1947, Saranne took a job teaching elementary school in Los Angeles while Larry attended law school at Southwestern School of Law. They remained in the Los Angeles area through the births of their first three children, Brian, Neil and Anne. In 1955, the family moved to Lancaster in the Antelope Valley where Larry began a successful legal practice. Three more children, Larry II, Emily and Ellen were born in Lancaster where Saranne taught in the public schools until the early 1960s. Saranne was politically active, working as a volunteer for John F. Kennedy’s Presidential campaign in 1960 and was engaged in Larry’s growing legal practice and her children’s education.

In 1976, Saranne, Larry, Emily and Ellen moved to Merced where Larry established the law firm Morse Morse and Morse with sons, Brian and Neil. Saranne was appointed to the City of Merced’s Design Review Committee on which she served for many years. She also volunteered for decades at St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop. Saranne and Larry traveled the world, including a flight to Europe on the Concorde. Saranne was a voracious reader of books, magazines and newspapers, and she made sure her children all had library cards from an early age. She was especially fond of English murder mysteries. Saranne had a lifetime love for sports and she and Larry played tennis into their 80s. They were also part of a group of Merced couples that played bridge for many years. An Irish Catholic, Saranne attended Mass on a near daily basis until recent years.

Perhaps Saranne’s greatest joy was spending time with Larry and her family at the Carlsbad beach house they had purchased in 1963 and which became so much a part of their lives.

Saranne was an incomparable Mother, who despite an 18-year difference between her oldest and youngest child, could move seamlessly from one child’s interests and needs to another. She was kind, gentle, compassionate and elegant, inside and out, and enhanced the lives of everyone who had the pleasure to know her. She cherished her husband, her family and her faith and lived a life filled with the great love that came from each.

Saranne was predeceased by her parents, Lee and Marguerite Condon, her sisters, Mary Lee O’Connor and Colleen Brosnan and her grandson, Ethan Morse. She is survived by her sister, Marguerite Carey of Merced, her children, Brian (Beverly), Neil (Theresa), Anne, Larry (Cindy), Emily (John) and Ellen, who lived with Saranne since Larry’s death in 2014 and provided her the loving care and companionship that she so deserved. Theirs was the most special of relationships and her siblings are especially indebted to Ellen for providing our Mom immeasurable love and devotion in the last years of her life. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Matt and Rachelle, Cortland, Adria and Elise, Michael, Lettye, Dylan, Ryan and Michael; several great-grandchildren and beloved nieces and nephews across the country.

A celebration of Saranne’s life will be held in late September. Details will be announced at a later date.