JO MORAN

Jo Moran was born Jo Ann Lane in Montpelier, Vermont, on May 20, 1962, to Dorothy Curtis Lane and John Battles Lane. She had one older sister, Kathryn Lane. Her parents both held doctorates, her mother’s PhD. was in organic chemistry, and her father’s PhD. was in mathematics. Jo’s parents worked as college professors in her youth. She lived with them in Virginia where they both studied and taught at Virginia Tech University. After relocating to Pennsylvania, Jo eventually went to high school in Titusville, where she loved track and cheerleading. Jo developed several friendships during her time in Titusville that would last her entire life.

Though Jo began college in Pennsylvania, she took time off from school to live with her mother in Ridgecrest, California, where Jo met her husband Tim working at Burger King. The two moved off to live in Colorado and Georgia before settling down to be married on August 6, 1983, in Cordell, Oklahoma. On October 27, 1987, Jo and Tim welcomed their twin sons Matthew and Daniel into the world. Around the same time, Jo earned her bachelor’s in Sociology Summa Cum Laude from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The two baby boys even got to meet the life-sentence inmates their mom interviewed as part of completing her studies!

Her husband’s work took them to various locations across Western Oklahoma: Sayre, Elk City, Lawton, Altus, and Enid. Jo took an interest in becoming an educator while living in Elk City where she eventually did her student teaching. She then held her first job as an English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor in Lawton after her husband transferred to work there. She went on to teach a wide gamut of subjects in her career: GED classes; Migrant classes; English, Reading, Science, Social Studies, and any other subject a school could throw her way to every grade level of student from 5th through 12th grade. Jo was teaching High School Social Studies in Sayre when she retired from teaching after 20 years in May of 2024.

Though she had a rewarding career in education where she loved her students dearly, she was most proud of her own family. She thought the world of them all and loved them fiercely with her whole being. She would travel the country from coast to coast to visit all of her loved ones whenever she got the chance. She especially loved it when her travels took her to a beach where she could enjoy the waves and warm sun with her toes in the sand. In her day-today life, she always loved exercise. Jo did everything from water aerobics to golf, and she even ran a half-marathon in her 50s! She also loved to read, watch cooking shows, and snuggle with her chihuahuas.

Due to worsening health complications, Jo Lane Moran was taken from us too soon. She was, however, surrounded by those who loved her as she passed, and is survived by the following: Father John Battles Lane of Cambridge Springs, PA; sister Kathryn Lane of Lawton; husband Tim Moran of the home; son Matthew and his wife Kaley along with their children Kennedy, Elijah, and Clementine Moran of Altus; and son Daniel Moran of Sayre. She was preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy Curtis Lane of Laramie, WY.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, November 2, 2024, at 2:00 P.M at the Sayre United Methodist Church. Services are under the direction of Chris Whinery and the staff of Affordable Cremation Service - West.