Margaret F.Q. Moran, 84, nurse was Lander Univ. first lady
January 26, 2023
Margaret Frances Queen Moran died Dec. 30 at the Lakes of Litchfield. She was 84.
She was born June 14, 1938, at her parents’ home in Ramage, W.Va., the the eldest child of William Elbert Queen and Ernie Faye Stollings Queen. She graduated in 1956 from Gauley Bridge (W.Va.) High School. In June 1959, Margaret graduated from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Huntington, W.Va. While attending St. Mary’s, she met William Charles Moran, who was an undergraduate at Marshall University. They fell deeply in love and married on Aug. 24, 1959. In their early married life, Margaret and Bill moved quite often in an effort to advance Bill’s career in academia while simultaneously raising their two sons.
Margaret was a radiology nurse and a surgical nurse in Baltimore and an OB/GYN nurse in Huntington and Knoxville, Tenn. She later became the director of McClenaghan Place Retirement Center in Florence in the 1980s. Of all her professional roles, she most enjoyed her term as the first lady to the president of Lander University in Greenwood from 1992 to 2000. While at Lander, Margaret served on the board of several civic organizations that served the town of Greenwood and Lander. She also lived in the United Arab Emirates for several years while Mr. Moran worked with the ruling family to establish the UAE higher education accreditation system.
But more than anything else, Margaret was an extraordinary caregiver, especially to Bill and Kevin, to whom she administered love and care all of their lives, but especially when they needed it most.
She enjoyed gardening, cooking, playing bridge and spending time with her family. She loved babies, especially her grandchildren, whom she would visit at least once a month even when she lived in the Middle East.
She is survived by her son, Tom Moran (Liz) of Murrells Inlet, who cared for Margaret when her health began to fail; her grandchildren, Wesley Tyler Moran (Beth Ann) of Pawleys Island, Michael Paxton Moran of Greenville and Sarah Elizabeth Moran of Atlanta; her great-grandchildren Henry Hutchinson “Hutch” Moran and Elizabeth Gray “Birdie” Moran, both of Pawleys Island; her siblings: Peggy Queen Andrews, J.D. (Bernie) of Naples, Fla., Brenda Queen Thorn (Bill) of Brandywine, W.Va., and Dr. William Frederick Queen (Pat) of Martinsburg, W.Va.; her nieces and nephews, Jaye Christopher Andrews (Andrea), Anne Andrews Hill (Steve), Jeffrey David Rhodes (Victoria), Timothy Allen Rhodes, Wesley Queen (Sarah), Dr. Whitney Queen Spry (Mike), James Moran, Andrew Laird Robinson, Neal Moran Robinson, and 17 grand-nieces and nephews.
Her husband died in 2009. Her other son, Kevin Patrick Moran, died in 2010.
A funeral mass will be held Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. at Precious Blood of Christ Catholic Church, with a burial service thereafter.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the William C. and Margaret F. Moran Scholarship in care of the Lander University Foundation in Greenwood or to the William C. Moran and Margaret F. Moran Scholarship in care of the Francis Marion University Foundation in Florence.
There is a guestbook at goldfinchfuneralhome.com.
