Elizabeth L (Betty) Moran of Andalusia, Illinois was taken home to the Lord on Friday, June 8, 2007, at Trinity West Medical Center, Rock Island. Graveside services will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, June 14, 2007 in the Englewood Cemetery, Clinton. Memorial contributions may be made to the Quad City Animal Welfare Center, Milan, IL.

Betty was born October 21, 1927, in Clinton, Missouri, the daughter of O.C. and Jewell Ross Davis. She grew up in Warrensburg, Missouri, and graduated from Warrensburg High School in 1945. She subsequently attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri and graduated with her AA degree.

Betty married Fred Royce Moran on October 18, 1947. She and Fred moved to Kansas City, Missouri and raised two sons, John and Jeffrey. On October 17, 1967 her life took a dramatic turn when Fred passed away after open heart surgery. Betty bravely went back to college with her younger son, Jeffrey, and graduated with Jeffrey, receiving her bachelor's degree in English in 1972. She went to work for the state of Missouri retiring in 1981. She owned and operated a bookstore. The Old Shepherd's Book Store, near Silver Dollar City and Branson, Missouri, until 1992 when the state of Missouri decided to build a highway through the book store. In 1993, Betty moved to Milan, Illinois near her son, John, and then to Andalusia, where she has lived until her death. Betty enjoyed reading and going to garage sales. She enjoyed traveling and had traveled throughout Europe and the United States. London was her favorite city in the world, and she loved Ireland. Betty had her 15 minutes of fame when living in Kansas City. She was baking bread one morning when the bread man rang the door bell to see if he could sell her some bread. Instead, the aroma of the
bread captured his attention and the bread man purchased a loaf of home made bread from Betty. This was picked up by a local columnist for the Kansas City Star and the story went national with attention from throughout the country. Betty witnessed history as a young woman when she snuck into the auditorium at
Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri to hear Winston Churchill give his "iron curtain" speech. But what Betty wanted for her life was to be a mother and a wife. The last part was taken from her one day before her 20th wedding anniversary, but she was a mother to John and Jeffrey and a grandmother to 6 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.


She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, John and Sharie Moran, Andalusia, IL and Jeffrey and Barbara Moran, Fulton, Missouri, 6 grandchildren, Christopher and Kelli Moran, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Heather and Robert Michael, Omaha, Nebraska, Fred and Alecia Moran, Avon Park, Florida, Catherine and Randy Teed, Muscatine, Iowa, Brent Moran, New Hampshire, and Courtney Moran, Kirksville, Missouri. She has six great grandchildren and was expecting a seventh in August.