Frances
Ellen (Barnes) Moran, 80, a retired hotel desk clerk from Shelby, died of
natural causes Tuesday at a Shelby care center.
Her funeral is 11 a.m. Friday at the Shelby Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, with visitation an hour prior to the service. Burial will take place 1
p.m. Saturday at Custer County Cemetery in Miles City. Whitted Funeral Chapel is
in charge of arrangements.
Survivors include daughters Roberta (Patrick) Hughes of Shelby and Sandra Moran
of Kalispell; sons David Moran of Miles City and Patrick (Mary) Moran of
Billings; brothers Charles William Barnes of Ventura, Calif.;daughter-in-law
LaWanna Moran of Billings; 15 grandchildren, Dale Byle and Nicholas (Jamie)
Moran of Billings, Justin (Jen) Moran of Red Lodge, Autumn (Mike) Combs, Patrick
Mierzwinski and Jack (Jadie) Hughes, all of Shelby, Amber Hughes of Corvallis,
Patrick (Leti) Moran of California City, Calif., Michael Moran (who currently on
the USS Ronald Reagen), Corryn, Chelsea and Jon Schock, Jacob Lewis of Kalispell
and Keara Geldrich, all of Kalispell, and Lynn Ann Cory of Georgia; 12
great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a son, John William Moran; sisters
Laura Marian Barnes and Dorothy Jean Lahn; and her brother, George Nick
Krumenaker.
She was born Dec. 23, 1926, in Miles City, to Charles Alwyn and Marian Alice
(George) Barnes. When she was 3 years old, the family moved to the George Ranch
at Knowlton, Mont., where she attended second and third grade at the Locate
School. At age 8, her family moved to Miles City, where she later graduated from
Custer County High School.
In 1947, she married William P. Moran of Miles City; they later divorced.
During the 1960s, Ellen worked for Roy Milligan at Milligan and Miles Howard
Hotel as a desk clerk. In the early 1970s, she worked for Eastern Montana
Industries as a secretary and receptionist. She then went to work for Hank and
Lois Buelow at the Olive Hotel as a desk clerk until her retirement.
In September 1995, Ellen moved to Shelby to be near her daughter, Bobbi Hughes.
She enjoyed crocheting, dancing, reading, recording movies and shows on VHS and
spending time with her family. She was a devoted mother and grandmother and
loved visiting on the phone. In her younger days, she was quite an adventurer
and flew planes, drove racecars and did horseback trick riding, which back in
her days was uncommon for a woman to do. She will be greatly missed by all who
knew her.
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