Anna Moylan

On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, Anna Moylan said her final goodbyes to family and friends. She passed away at the age of 94 to be with her husband Gene and her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A visitation will be held Wednesday evening, October 17, 2018, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with a Rosary at 7:00 p.m. at Dakan Funeral Chapel, 504 S. Kimball Ave., Caldwell. A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, October 18, 2018 at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, Caldwell. Burial will be at 3:00 p.m. at Dry Creek Cemetery, Boise. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.dakanfuneralchapel.com

Born January 1, 1924 in the town of St. Clair, Pennsylvania, Anna spent much of her childhood as a caretaker and role model for her four younger sisters: Mary, Elizabeth, Irene, and Margaret. Anna, her sisters, and the parents of the five girls (Mary and George Friga of Czechoslovakia), were widely known and respected throughout St. Clair for their kindness, generosity, and daily giving. Mary and George ran a restaurant within their home quarters, tending to the needs of St. Clair’s residents and the surrounding communities. Anna was constantly at the forefront of dealing with customers while playing the role of surrogate mother to each of her sisters. The family practiced Russian Orthodoxy on a weekly basis, and Anna was constantly involved with the church’s events…particularly whenever singing was on the agenda.

Throughout much of her childhood and early teenage years, Anna was relegated to the role of “second mother,” where she championed the position with nothing but strength and love for her family. Anna and her family also went out of their way to provide for anybody that came calling. In doing all of this, she became an excellent ambassador of compassion, a phenomenal cook, and a tireless and diligent student, never slowing down in her search for something more to life’s future endeavors. When World War II took ahold of the country, it brought about the most significant change of her life— and the path forward to several years’ worth of amazing experiences.

Between 1942 and 1944, Anna found herself traveling and working in several regions of the country. She worked for the United States Government and the War Department as a secretary during the height of the War. Wherever she was needed, she went: no questions asked. Eventually her travels brought her back to where it all started: with her family in Pennsylvania.

Anna was always fond of remembering the relationships she had in her late teens and early 20s. At one local establishment in Pennsylvania, Anna was fondly known as “Dark Eyes,” But it was Gene Moylan and his “Cold Eyes” that turned the tide forever. Only two months after the War, Anna met her future husband and father to six boys. From that point forward, the two courted one another while at Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation just outside of Harrisburg. Anna was smitten by Gene’s charm, wit, and his ability to be the most humble man in a room. It was a recipe for life-long love.

On Anna’s 21st birthday, Gene placed a promise on her finger. This union provided the groundwork for 47 years of adventurous experiences, most of which involved constant travel and relocation. She and Gene never relinquished a moment of the time spent moving from state to state, city to city, school to school. Because it was education, truly, that brought Anna and Gene together for the remainder of their lives.

Between 1947 and 1961, Anna loved and mothered six boys: Denny, John, Bill, Bruce, Kevin, and Brent were her world. This task, however, was always difficult to manage due to Gene’s continuous coaching and education projects. Being the wife of a teacher, administrator, and coach was Anna’s superpower. The 1940’s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, saw Anna and Gene move the family continuously around the country: from Iowa to Illinois, from Illinois to Nevada, from Nevada to Idaho, from Idaho to Arizona, from Arizona to California, from California to Idaho. It was a never-ending process that always took the family to another potential landing spot for Anna and Gene to create roots; a never-ending process that Anna always powered through and cherished. There wasn’t any experience she didn’t find gratifying in some way or another.

Throughout these years, Anna found the experiences with her sons to be an amalgamation of life’s many treasures. No matter where the family found themselves during these years, Anna was always able to attempt and provide balance—another significant superpower and character trait that defined her until the end.

As her sons created families of their own, Anna became a shining grandmother for her six boys. When not working at the District Office, spending time as the secretary for St. Mary’s Catholic Church, or spreading loving vibes throughout the community of Caldwell, Anna always took the time to nurture and care for her sons’ children. Holidays always brought out the Eastern European woman in her, where she would cook and host to her heart’s content. She truly did indeed exude the Friga specialty of good food and good times. If the smell of freshly-baked bread and sharing heaps of food with family and friends were two of her life-long loves, another was her willingness to continuously share these feelings until she died. Stories upon stories dominated her final years, as she made sure to pass along as many powerful and poignant anecdotes as possible.

Anna is survived by the following: sons Dennis, John, Bruce (deceased), Bill (Patti), Kevin (Connie), Brent (Laura). Grandchildren: Shawn Moylan (Jennifer), Kelly Moylan (Stacy), Aaron Moylan (Kassie), Anna Van Weerdhuizen (Mark), Terresa Dunn (Wade), Sophia Moylan, and special niece, Elsa Beystrum. In addition, Anna is survived by several great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by son, Bruce and her husband, Gene.

“Look to this day, for it is life.
In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence;
the bliss of growth, the glory of action, the splendor of beauty.
For yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision;
but today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day, such is the salutation of the dawn.” (From the “Sanskrit”)

Anna Moylan, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend. You will be truly missed. God grant you peace and love and eternal time with your love Gene. We love you.
 

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