Morelle Moran

Morelle Moran
08/31/2025
Morrelle Moran (nee Killian) passed away peacefully the morning of August 31, 2025. Her devotion to family, friends, faith and an appreciation for life touched and inspired so many.
Morrelle, one of five siblings, was born in Kenagh, Longford County, Ireland. After attending the Kenagh National School, she was awarded an academic scholarship by the County Council to attend Ballymahon National School from ages 14 to 19. Morrelle always desired to be a teacher and, after graduating high school, applied to become a certified teacher at Carysfort Teacher Training College outside of Dublin. With enrollment full for that intake year, she instead headed to Galway University to study Medicine but was soon drawn back to her passion for teaching. She learned that the school in the nearby village of Moydow, four miles from her home in Kenagh, was looking for a Junior Assistant Mistress (JAM). Morrelle traveled that route by bicycle in rainy Ireland for several years before she proudly purchased a car in her early 20s, on a teacher's salary, in late 1950's Ireland - no small feat at the time.
Morrelle loved sharing and teaching music with the children of Moydow for eight years, from playing the harmonium at mass to instructing children to sing Latin hymns. At the same time, she enjoyed her early adult years by attending local dances on weekends, which was where she initially met her compatriot and eventual husband (Liam Moran) - only to reacquaint herself with him in California some years later.
Unbeknownst to Morrelle, Carysfort College had been reaching out to her for several years by letters that were discarded by the local Canon so as not to lose JAM Killian to the two-year training program. When she ultimately enrolled at Carysfort after so many years of practical experience, she found the curriculum of little value. So, in her spare time, she prepared paperwork to emigrate to the United States, after visiting a sister already living in California.
At age 27 and with her close sister Eileen, Morrelle embarked on a transatlantic ship from Cork to New York before flying to California. She quickly found employment as a long-distance phone operator before identifying another teaching opportunity at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Belmont, CA, where she taught 3rd and 5th grades for eight years from 1962-1970.
In California, Morrelle reconnected with Liam, who served years as a radio officer in the Merchant Marines before entering the nursery business in the Bay Area, and they were married in 1966. And so, beginning in 1970, Morrelle shifted her dedication from countless grateful students in both Ireland and the U.S. to the family and friends who treasured her. In the intervening years, she raised three sons, supported her husband and his business, traveled the world, studied a lot of French and a little of Japanese, stayed active through golf, bridge and bonding with her Pete's Pals, hosted countless guests, and took innumerable pictures of places, occasions and people she loved along the way.
Morrelle is preceded in death by her loving husband, Liam, and is survived by her sons Eamon (Ashley) of Wilton, CT, Darrell of Sertaozinho, Brazil, and Kevin (Alejandra) of Alexandria, VA; and grandchildren Meredith, Katherine, Fiona, Blair, Brooke and Mateo. She is also survived by her loving nieces Dara Galligan of County Wicklow, Ireland, and Grania FitzGerald of London, England, and nephew David Powell of San Clemente, CA.
Friends and family are invited to attend a Memorial Mass and subsequent reception on September 19th at 10:00am at St. Bartholomew Church in San Mateo, CA. A private interment will follow at St. John's Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, welcome donations be made in Morrelle's name to Mission Hospice & Home Care of San Mateo, CA.