Cora I. Morilon

Jeanne Morilon, beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt passed away on June 16, 2019, at the age of 92.
Cora Imogene Garton was born in Marathon, Iowa to Sarah Irene and Eugene Thomas Garton on July 9, 1926, her father’s 32nd birthday.   She joined her 3-year-old twin brothers, Clarence and Kenneth.   Her sister Beverly joined the family 10 years later.
She was raised on the farm in Iowa, raising hogs, soy, and corn.   After graduation from Marathon High School in 1944, she attended secretarial school in Omaha, Nebraska.   On the bus on the way to her graduation from secretarial school, she asked a handsome young man what time it was.   A month later, on September 29, 1945, she and that handsome young man, Douglas Noel Morilon were married in Portland, Oregon.
After their marriage, Doug went back into the Air Force.   The young family was stationed several places including Wiesbaden, Germany and Spokane, Washington before Doug left the service and they settled on the farm near Hillsboro, Oregon.
That secretarial degree never did get implemented.  She was a loving, supportive mother to 6 children who were born over a span of 15 years.   That was her full-time job!
Jeanne always loved to sing, and was a soprano in the Methodist Church Choir until she felt like her voice wasn’t strong enough.  She always sang or hummed as she worked.   If she wasn’t humming or singing, you knew something was wrong.
Living on a farm, there was always work to be done; gardening, weeding, picking, canning.   Jeanne taught her children the value of hard work as they worked alongside her.
Jeanne’s love of reading was inherited from her father and passed on to her children and many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.   She loved word games and crossword puzzles.   She was also fanatic about proper grammar.
Jeanne was a member of Eastern Star, Amaranth and the Methodist Church.   She remained active in those organizations until her age-related dementia caused her to not remember her friends.
Jeanne is survived by her children; Misty Cash (Jim), Sheryl Nims (Larry), Crystal VanderZanden (Bob), Holly Austin, Noel Morilon (Donna), and Melodie Bowman (Brian).   She is also survived by her grandchildren; Heath Cash (Marie), Avery Cash (Ali), Asa Nims (Chris), Curt VanderZanden (Darcie), Tad VanderZanden (Stefanie), Leah VanderZanden Nussbaumer (Mitch), Angela Pickett (Shawn), Heather Gamotis (Brian), Angie Kopshy (Jeff Simonson), Shane Morilon (Natalie), Emily Bertrand (Larry), Cory Morilon (April), Courtney Bowman, and Jeremy Bowman (fiancee’ Reba), her great grandchildren: Seth and Kira Nims, Nolan and Gabriel Cash, Colby and Olivia Cash, Taylor and John VanderZanden, Collin, Ethan, and Jack VanderZanden,  Isaac and Emma Nussbaumer, Trevor, Megan and Derek Pickett, Mason Wilson, Kyle and Alex Gamotis, William Bertrand, Myles and Ava Morilon.   She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and their families.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Doug, her parents, her brothers and sister, all her sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and her grandson Nicholas Brandon Kopshy.
Jeanne was a loving, gentle woman who always looked for the best in people.   She was the living embodiment of “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”   She will be so missed by all of us who loved her.
A Celebration of Life will be held on June 29 at 11am at the Hillsboro United Methodist Church.  Lunch will be served followed by Jeanne’s favorite food, ice cream.
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