September 06, 2009|By Jacques Kelly | Jacques Kelly,jacques.kelly@baltsun.com
Alfred Joseph Moran, a retired telephone union official who was active in labor organizations for four decades and was a World War II veteran, died Aug. 28 at Stella Maris Hospice of surgical complications related to an aneurysm. The former Woodlawn resident was 86.
Born in Baltimore and raised in Bolton Hill, he was a Corpus Christi Parochial School graduate. As a young man, he rode a bicycle to deliver blueprints in downtown Baltimore and sold office equipment for the Victor Adding Machine Co.
In 1940, he enlisted in the 110th Field Artillery, a division of the Maryland National Guard. After the United States entered World War II, he was assigned to North Africa and was part of the invasion of Italy. He landed at Sicily and Naples and fought in the Rome and Arno areas, as well as the Rhineland and Ardennes campaigns.
A paratrooper who made more than 50 jumps, he also ran a jumping school in Rome for military personnel. He was also a marksman and was wounded in the arm.
After the war, he joined the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., where he worked for nearly 35 years. He began as a repairman and installer, and became a systems technician.
"He was a strong union guy who grew up during the Great Depression," said his brother, William Moran of Lutherville. "He thought you couldn't accomplish anything unless you were organized."
He joined the Communications Workers of America, Local 2101, and rose to become president of the 2,500-member local. He served as president for seven years in the 1970s and worked on safety standards and retirement issues.
"He worked hard for all his members and fought a lot of grievances for them. He was a stand-up guy for all his men," said his son, Steven M. Moran of Ocean Pines. "He was a good speaker and a good father."
In the 1970s, he testified before the Maryland General Assembly to urge that telephone subscribers not be charged for requesting directory assistance or information.
In 1980, he resigned as his local's president and became a field coordinator for the AFL-CIO's Appalachian Council. He attended seminars at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies (now the National Labor College) and Pennsylvania State University. He was also a field coordinator for the federal Department of Labor's National on the Job Training Program.
In 1978, he led a convoy of 25 trucks to take food to striking coal miners in West Virginia.
"He loved working," said a daughter, Susan Horn of Shrewsbury, Pa. "If his eyesight hadn't given out, he would have been working until he was 85."
Mr. Moran had been a member of Baltimore County's Personnel and Salary Advisory Board and was active in the United Way of Central Maryland.
In 1986, he moved to the Eastern Shore and built a home in Berlin. After retiring, he worked at an Ocean City boardwalk arcade, the Funcade Casino.
Mr. Moran enjoyed golf and was president of the Hobnobbers Association, a group who played weekends at Hobbit's Glen in Columbia. As a young man, he ice-skated at the old Carlin's Park and was a catcher on sandlot baseball teams.
A Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. Sept. 12 at the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Roman Catholic Church, 20 E. Ridgely Road, Timonium. He had been a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church.
In addition to his brother, son and daughter, survivors include two other daughters, Patricia Saiia of Crownsville and Nancy Long of Towson; a sister, Eleanor Braun of Timonium; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. His wife of 62 years, the former Anne Schminki, died in 2004.
