Magdalen M. Moran

I, Maggie Moran, was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Due and Kathleen Millsaps. It was a happy childhood until 1929 when the banks failed. After moving around a lot in Iowa, we moved to Austin when I was 18. I enrolled in the School of Fine Arts, part of the University of Texas, and I graduated with a degree in Drama Education in 1943.

My first job was Dramatics Counselor at Camp Nakanawa in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Upon return, I contacted the Education Department to find a job and there were no openings in the Austin area but there was an English teacher opportunity in Lockhart, Texas. It was there that I met my husband of 67 years, John Moran.

John was a Celestial Navigation Instructor at the San Marcos Air Force Base. We married on February 19, 1944. John was transferred to Westover Field in Springfield, Massachusetts and also sent to train on B29’s. The war ended and we moved to John’s hometown of Fredonia New York where John finished college. After several smaller jobs, John’s career took off with Chrysler. After a few years in Detroit, we along with our three daughters, Patricia, Kathleen and Marsha, moved to Geneva, Switzerland in 1959. It was a wonderful time for all. The International Division of Chrysler closed in 1967 and we returned to Detroit where we lived until his early retirement in 1975.

We wanted to return to Austin to be near my mother and my sisters’ families. We became active at St. David’s Episcopal Church and I volunteered at their Next To New thrift shop for 20 years. My background in drama led me to being a volunteer reader at Recordings For The Blind for 11 years. The Austin Woman’s Club has been an important part of my life here. I was President of AWC from 1987 – 1989 and served on various committees the most challenging of which was Chairwoman of the Building Committee due to the age of the building. I was also a longstanding member of Austin’s oldest book club – Pathfinders.

Maggie died peacefully of double pneumonia at age 98 in the company of her family at Christopher House in Austin. Maggie is survived by her daughters and their families: Patricia and Richard Steelman of Alexandria, VA, Kathleen and Timothy Brown of Austin, TX and Marsha and Milton Sackett of Madison Heights, MI. Her grandchildren are Dona (Chen) and Jacob Steelman, Rebecca and Miguel Mayal, Holly and Michael Raceles, Ashlee and Steve Schlange, Karen and Stephen King and Jessie and Kevin Brown. Her great grandchildren are Sofia Mayal, Kaia and Finley Brown.

There will be a family service in Fredonia, New york at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Maggie requested donations be made to the Trinity Center in Austin, the Austin Woman's Club, Hospice Austin and Christopher House. Please forward any condolence cards or messages to Tim and Kathy Brown, 8145 Forest Mesa Drive, Austin, Texas 78759.