Sr. Annette extolled for her gentle spirit and teaching

Sister Annette Jean Moran, who died Sunday, July 8, 2007, after an 11-year battle with breast cancer, is being remembered and celebrated as a gentle spirit, a beloved and respected professor, adviser, counselor and spiritual director.
In his homily during the July 12 funeral Mass, Father Dan Shea thanked her family and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for sharing her with Montanans for over 11 years.
He quoted from Sister Annette’s own words that she loved going to Our Lady of the Valley Church where funeral services were held. It took her time to become accustomed to a different style of music and hugging, he added.
Before the commendation her younger brother, Tom Moran, spoke briefly, saying he has heard her called a “quiet force.” “It’s clear now that the radiance of her art has touched all of us,” he said.
Sister Mary Kay Hadican, who came to Helena with other Sisters of St. Joseph, thanked the Helena community and Carroll College for their support, and hospice for letting the sisters minister to Annette.
Father Shea, pastor of Our Lady of the Valley, celebrated the Mass. Bishop George Leo Thomas presided, and concelebrants were Msgr. Joseph Harrington and Father Tim Clancy, SJ. Other priests were in the congregation.
Annette was born May 22, 1946, in Omaha, Neb., the daughter of John and Mary Ellen Moran. After growing up in Kansas City, Mo., she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and was a member for 41 years.
Sister Annette taught elementary school in Chicago and high school English in St. Louis and Waco, Texas. She received a master’s degree in English from Ohio State University and a master’s in theology from St. John’s, Collegeville, Minn. In 1985, she began studies for a doctorate at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. While finishing her degree, she was admissions director at the Jesuit School of Theology.
In 1996, Sister Annette accepted a position at Carroll College in Helena. She was an empowering, self-effacing teacher who taught courses that integrated systematic theology, literature and spirituality.
For the past six years, she was chair of the theology department. She also played a central role in cultivating Carroll’s distinctive Catholic identity. She conducted diaconate and lay formation workshops for the Diocese of Helena.
Although she was far from her religious community’s motherhouse in St. Louis, Annette maintained an active role. In the past two years, she conducted two theological symposia.
Annette fell in love with Carroll College and the eclectic Helena community. Her gentle pervading spirit touched all who knew her. She was a student of life, always interested in participating, not just observing. In the early morning, she loved to walk the base of Mount Helena. She belonged to painting, writing and spirituality groups. She participated in the Race for the Cure several times and took aerobic dance classes.
Annette was preceded in death by her parents and by her sister, Elizabeth Moran.
Survivors include members of her religious community; her sisters, Mary Margaret Dolan of St. Louis, Ellen Fraser of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Cathy Crooms (Ray) of St. Louis; her brothers, Thomas Moran (Janet) of San Jose, Calif., John Moran (Liz) of Columbia, Mo., Bill Moran (Celine) of Kansas City, Patrick Moran (Debra) of Fort Lauderdale, James Moran (Jane) of Kansas City, Robert Moran of Chicago, and 26 beloved nieces and nephews.
On July 28, at the Sisters of St. Joseph motherhouse in St. Louis, a Eucharistic celebration will be held with burial following at Nazareth Cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to The Sister Annette Moran Scholarship at Carroll College, 1601 N. Benton Ave., Helena, MT 59625 and/or to The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111.

Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 23, No. 7, July 20, 2007.