JOHN and Marie Morahan died just two days apart after being inseparable during their 67-year marriage.
Both sadness and joy abounded when their five sons, Michael, Mark, Gregory, Paul and John, gathered at St Catherine Laboure Catholic Church, Gymea, yesterday with other family members and friends to farewell them and celebrate their lives.
John (Jack) Morahan was 91 and Marie was 89.
"Right to the end and forever more, Mum was and will be with the love of her life," son John said in his eulogy.
The couple met when they worked at the Taxation Department in Sydney, where he was an accountant and she was a typist and shorthand writer.
They married in 1948 and bought a block of land on the Kingsway at Gymea. They relocated to Yowie Bay in the 1980s and about five years ago moved into assisted care at St Basil's Hellenic Village, Miranda.
"Mum wasn't too happy about it, but it was Dad's call," their son Greg told the Leader.
Mr Morahan said his mother developed dementia and for most of the past year his parents shared a room in the dementia ward.
"During the day, they would sit next to each other in the common room or bedroom," he said. "We were glad Mum went first because she would have been distraught without Dad being next to her."
Mr Morahan said his mother died on Friday, June 26.
"We told Dad and we could see him reacting. That afternoon, Dad drifted into unconsciousness and he died on Sunday morning," he said.
"We are very pleased they went together and one wasn't fretting for the other. Some of the grandkids said they thought it was romantic."
John Morahan said in his eulogy their mother had fulfilled her three ambitions in life; to be "a good Catholic, a good wife and a good mother".
After being a full-time mum for 25 years she went back to work.
"The workplace had certainly changed and she met her first divorced person, observed an office affair and was amazed what the women in the typing pool would discuss over coffee," Mr Morahan said.
He said the arrival of grandchildren saw his parents' home become "Nanna and Jack's" and the rules they grew up with were replaced with lolly jars and fridges full of soft drink.
DEDICATED SERVICE
John (Jack) Morahan spent a large part of his life helping the poor and disadvantaged as a member of St Vincent de Paul Society.
With his accountancy background, he became involved in state and federal administration and was national president from 1977 to 1981.
Mr Morahan was awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire) in 1974 an OAM (Medal of the Order of Australia) in 1995 and was made a Papal Knight of the Order of Saint Sylvester in 2009.
He organised the society’s response to Cyclone Tracy in 1974, with clothing collected from NSW stores dispatched on the first RAAF Hercules to reach Darwin after the devastation.
Mr Morahan joined the army during World War II before transferring to the air force, where he trained as a bomber nose gunner.
Japan surrendered as his unit was about to leave for the Pacific.
A talented sportsman, he was involved at a high level in athletics, rugby league and rugby during and after the war.
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