Paul Aloysius Morano
MORANO, MCRAE, BUTZ, BABER, POTEET, SWINDLEHURST, PALMATIER, CASTILLO, WILLIAMSON, VILLHAUER, SIMON, MAHAN, VAUGHN
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 7/15/2016 at 12:16:23
Paul Aloysius Morano, Jr. 93, of Legacy Ridge in Iowa City, died peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at Mercy Hospice.
Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, July 16 at 9 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City. Visitation will be Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Lensing Funeral Home on Kirkwood Avenue, where a vigil service will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Burial with military honors will be at Memory Gardens in Iowa City. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Mary’s Church Iowa City, Mercy Hospice or The Regina Foundation.
Paul was born June 5, 1923 in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Mary (Lillie) McRae and Paul A. Morano, Sr. He enlisted in the Navy in 1941. He married Betty Butz on June 12, 1943 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Riverside, Iowa. Paul was the proud father of seven children: Judy (Ron) Baber, Walter Morano (Joe Poteet), Terry (Bev) Morano, Peggy (Steve) Swindlehurst, Dave (Lynn) Morano, John Morano and Paul (Jayleen) Morano III. Paul and Betty have 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Ann Morano.
Betty and family would like to thank Mercy Hospital and Mercy Hospice for their compassionate caring.
Paul was born June 5th 1923 in Richmond, Virginia and lived on the 2100 block of Main Street. His parents were Paul Sr. and Mary Elizabeth McRae. He had one sister, Ann, who was born in 1926 and died October 2013. His early schooling was at St. Benedicts. Then in the 5th grade he went to the Brother School, and then St. Patrick’s, then he became a cadet at St. Benedicts. His final 2 years of schooling was in the public school at Thomas Jefferson.
In February 1941, with the threat of war, he rode his bicycle to the Main Street Station Recruiting Office in Richmond, VA. Since he was not quite 18 years old his mother agreed to sign the papers to allow him to join. There was one more obstacle; Paul weighed only 112 pounds, and you needed to be 115 to meet Navy requirements. The recruiter had a solution. He gave Paul 5 cents and told him to buy 3 bananas at the nearby market and drink as much water as he could hold. This did the trick, and Paul weighed a whopping 115, enough to satisfy the Navy.
Paul’s career in the Navy began in Norfolk, which was 16 weeks of marching, 2 times per day. He was then sent to Portsmouth for Medical training Annapolis for Hospital training, then to Great Lakes for Pre-flight school. Paul contracted Scarlet Fever, and spent 25 days in sick day from Great Lakes Paul came to Iowa city for the pre-flight school, medical corp. He met Betty Butz, his future wife on the 2nd day in town, where she was a waitress at the Princess Café. She was preparing to start her schooling at Browns Commercial College. They had a date the following night at Dance Mor, in Swisher, Iowa.
He served on the USS San Jacinto in the South Pacific. He and his ship experienced extensive action and survived 2 typhoons and multiple kamikaze attacks.
Paul and Betty have 7 children who range in age from 51 to 70 , Judy Baber (Ron), Walter Morano (Joe Poteet), Terry Morano (Bev), Peggy Swindlehurt (Steve), Dave Morano (Lynn), John Morano, and Paul Morano (Jayleen).
The Grandchildren range in age of 26 to 43. Russ Baber, LeAnn Palmatier (Rick), Sharon Castillo (Nereo), Tony Morano, Theresa Morano Williamson (Bret), Tom Swindlehurst (Jennifer), Jeremy Swindlehurst, Amanda Villhauer (Ben), Lisa Simon (Justin), Jennifer Mahan (Adam) and Jessica Vaughn (Heath).
Great Grandchildren range in age from 5 months to 20 years. They include Manuel Ramirez, Miguel Castillo, Jacino Castillo, Julien Castillo, Morgan Palmatier, Nichole Palmatier, Henry Simon, Sam Simon, Josephine Simon and William Vaughn.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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