Columbia Nursing Bids Goodbye to Mary Moran
On Friday, November 14, Columbia University School of Nursing held a memorial service honoring Mary Moran, MS ’08, after a Celebration of Life and Memorial Mass at the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine.
The lobby at Columbia Nursing displayed photos of Moran and mementoes from her globe-spanning career. Members of the school community have been sharing their memories of Mary in writing here and on the second floor of the school.
Ashley Graham-Perel, EdD, director of the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs, opened the reception Friday afternoon. “We want to recognize the profound connection that Mary Moran shared with our community. I want you to take a minute and look around, because I have the best of you in the house, but look around. This is all for Mary Moran, and all that she was,” she said.
Dean Lorraine Frazier, PhD, followed Graham-Perel at the podium, offering an Irish blessing: “May the work of her hands speak for her. May the love she gave, return to her hundredfold. And until we meet again, may God hold her in the palm of his hand.”
She continued: “Mary Moran was a beloved member of Columbia Nursing faculty…whose deep commitment to nursing, to education, and to community touched everybody who had the privilege of knowing her.”
Dean Frazier noted some of Moran’s accomplishments: teaching and mentorship as a clinical instructor at Columbia Nursing for more than 25 years; collaborations with community organizations across Harlem and Washington Heights to advance health (always with active student involvement); and Girls2Women, a non-profit she founded that supports girls’ education in rural Ethiopia.
Moran’s global health work also took her to Sudan, Somalia, and Zaire, where she served with the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, and Doctors Without Borders.
Other speakers included Mary’s husband, Gebremedhin Ambaye, who recalled how they met and fell in love as relief workers in Sudan. Assistant Professor Donald Boyd, PhD ’17, shared remarks on behalf of the Alumni Association, and Assistant Professor Jeanne Churchill, DNP ’10, provided closing remarks.
To conclude the event, Ashley Graham-Perel asked all in attendance to smile and give their neighbor a hug, while Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds (Don’t Worry About a Thing)” played, as requested by Mary’s family.
To make a memorial contribution in Mary’s honor, gifts may be directed to the Columbia Nursing Annual Fund. The school is also in the early stages of establishing an endowed scholarship to honor Mary’s remarkable legacy.