A quick and gentle wit: George Fox mourns the loss of Cara Moran
Bridgette Harmon, News Editor
November 28, 2007
"Cara was the most genuine girl you could ever hope to meet," said Liz Kelley, sophomore music major. "I loved making sarcastic jokes with her when we worked custodial together. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that she's gone."
The George Fox community has joined together in mourning the death of Cara Moran, a senior history major at George Fox. Moran was killed in a head-on collision in Sherwood at 12:48 a.m. on Nov. 18. Three other Fox students in the car-Faven Yirdaw, Kimberly Cullen and Arianne Reagor-were seriously injured in the accident. The driver of the oncoming car, Sydney Diller, died upon impact.
Cara's many friends at George Fox remember her quick sarcasm, her warm heart, her deep faith and her love of Justin Timberlake music.
Micah McNeal, a junior biblical studies major, said: "Cara was a joyful person full of life. I first met her when she was a sophomore and I was a freshman. She lived on my sister floor across from my friend Arianne, and over the course of the last four years I got to know her fairly well. We were good friends."
"There are so many things I want to say," said McNeal "But maybe the most important thing is: she knew what she was supposed to do. She told me once that God told her to be a history major instead of a biology major. Maybe it was so she could impact the lives of professors and students within that major. I don't really know. All I know is that she impacted my life and I will surely never be the same."
Tiffany Tangen, a George Fox alumna and the current Interlibrary Loan Coordinator for the Murdock Learning and Resource Center, said: "After many history classes together, shared roommates, Bible studies, and the occasional clarification on who-was-who-and-why-do-we-care regarding historical figures, I realized that she was a good friend, in every way."
Last year, Tangen and Cara bonded after sharing two classes, one right after the other, that were polar opposites on the historical spectrum: Caitlin Corning's Medieval Europe class and Kerry Irish's Recent America. "We would, inevitably, discuss Kerry's class in Caitlin's and Caitlin's in Kerry's. Therefore, various English monarchs were compared to JFK, and the Cold War became very closely aligned with the Vikings," said Tangen.
Ciara Talley, a senior Christian ministries and literature major, remembers that whenever she would ask Cara why people were doing something silly or stupid, Cara always said, "We don't ask questions." "It was our custodial motto during the summer," said Talley.
"I guess the one thing I will most remember about Cara," said Talley "Is that even though she was the most sarcastic person I have ever known, deep down she was a romantic. She always told us about these movies that would touch her and make her cry. And every night before turning the lights out she would read her Bible. That sort of discipline is something I want to strive for. I am so looking forward to the fun times we will have in heaven." Cara's funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chandler, AZ, Cara's home town. A George Fox representative will be present at the funeral.
The George Fox memorial service for Cara will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3 in Woodmar Auditorium.
"I am so proud of how the George Fox community has responded during this heart wrenching time," said Brad Lau, vice president for student life. "Students, faculty, staff and even outside churches and institutions have come together to show Christ's love to one another, and it is so powerful."
Please contact Brad Lau if you have any questions or if you would like to share a story about Cara Moran for the upcoming memorial service as the George Fox community says their final farewells.
"I hope heaven has a DJ set up that plays nothing but Justin Timberlake, 24/7, just for Cara," said Tangen. Whatever the case, Cara's humor and sweetness have surely added to the joy of Christ's kingdom.