Munro, Mora Jean n. Mowat
UMR: MSS-681
Locations: Aberdeen, Callendar, Evanton, Muir of Ord
Locations Hawick, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Callander, Evanton
Milestones
Birth October 5 1929 Edinburgh
Marriage August 23 1956 Callendar to Alastair Harry Munro
Death December 25 2018 Muir of Ord
Short life summary
Mora Jean Munro was the only child of Reverend John Mowat and Dr. Janet Mowat (nee Rugg).
Educated in Aberdeen, she went to university there, gaining an MA and a teaching qualification.
After posts in Aberdeen and Callander in the early and mid 1950s, in August 1956, she married Alastair Munro. They set up home at Balconie, Evanton.
Mora taught at Sunday School, led the church choir, joined the Dingwall Choir. An accomplished infant teacher, mainly at Kiltearn Primary School, Evanton, she made many lasting friendships during her long career.
In retirement, Mora and Alastair often visited their daughter Jill and her family in Strasbourg, France. They also frequently welcomed their grand-daughters, Mary and Helene, to Balconie, during the school holidays.
Mora is survived by Jill, her son-in-law, Jean-Marie, and granddaughters, Mary and Helene.
Timeline
1929 Mora Jean Mowat is born to Rev. John Mowat and Dr. Janet Mowat (nee Rugg)
1930 Moves from Hawick to Kilmarnock
1936 – 1937 Begins Primary school, Kilmarnock
1937 Moves to Aberdeen
1941 – 1946 Attends Aberdeen High School
1946 – 1950 Studies at Aberdeen University, graduating with an MA.
1951 – 1952 First teaching position, Demonstration School, Aberdeen
1953 – 1956 Infant teaching, Callander Primary School
1956 Marries Alastair Harry Munro on August 23
1961 April 19, birth of Jill Mora Munro
1967 – 1973 Infant teaching, Kiltearn Primary School
1979 – 1989 Infant teaching, Kiltearn Primary School
2016 January 17 Death of Alastair.
2018 December 23 moves to Urray House, Muir of Ord.
Death Notice*
Mora Munro, Balconie, Evanton, passed away peacefully in her 90th year, on 25 December, 2018, at Urray House, Muir of Ord. She is survived by her daughter Jill, son-in-law, Jean-Marie and her grand-daughters, Mary and Helene.
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Appreciation
Mora liked ice cream.
It started with a mouthwatering Knickerbocker Glory in the Holburn Café, 53 Holburn Street, Aberdeen. Attilio Giullianotti had set up shop there in 1929 and his family continued to make ice-cream through Mora’s childhood and after the War. She never forgot the smooth texture and rich creamy flavour and when she married and moved north she set on the trail for the perfect ice-cream up and down the A9 – Capaldi in Kingussie and Brora, Morganti in Dingwall, Toni in Alness and on the Black Isle there was the Merry Thought Café and Luigi’s in Dornoch. All well worth the trip on a Sunday afternoon for a 99 or a slider, with a layer of gooey marshmallow between a thick wedge of ice-cream. She passed on the ice cream thing to children and grandchildren (a few great ice-cream shops near us in Strasbourg – Franci’s, Glacier Toscana or Amorino’s)
Fellow ice cream enthusiasts might be interested in the following fascinating stories of Scotland’s ice-cream shops:
It is Never Too Cold for Ice Cream: Italian Food in Scotland | Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Italian Ice- Creams and Fish Suppers in Scotland – Created Curated by Sara Brown
A History of Italian Ice Cream Cafés in Scotland – Great British Chefs.
Obituary
Mora Jean Munro was a joyful, generous, hospitable, only daughter of the Manse.
Growing up in Aberdeen during the Second World War, Mora went to Aberdeen University as the servicemen were returning. She didn’t meet her husband, Alastair, there, however, but at a family wedding where common connections brought them together on the dance floor. Alastair wasn’t a dancer, but he had plenty other qualities to make the prospect of life on a farm on the shores of the Cromarty Firth interesting.
In August 1956, they married and together set up house at Balconie, Evanton. A city girl, she quickly adapted to country life, with many memories of her childhood on her uncles’ farm, Wester Rarichie, Nigg. With Alastair, they farmed Balconie which was successively a dairy farm, a sheep farm and granary for Dalmore Distillery.
Alastair and Mora attended Kiltearn Parish Church where Mora taught Sunday School and led the choir. Mora’s long-standing interest in music led her to join the Dingwall Choir, conducted by Andrew Adamson.
Like her father, Mora had a life- long interest in education. She was an accomplished infant teacher, mainly at Kiltearn Primary School, Evanton, where she taught almost two generations. During her career, she made many lasting friendships, enjoying former colleagues’’company at weekly gatherings, long after her retirement. Her interest in the young included the Girl Guides, serving as Brown Owl of the Evanton pack of Brownies for several years.
In the summer holidays, Alastair and Mora’s activities converged in hosting families on holiday in the old farm cottages. This was the occasion for singing long into the summer nights around a campfire in the old Castle Garden. Mora and Alistair began renting out the cottages in the 1970s, at a time when tourism grew in the area.
Retirement from school enabled Mora to join Alastair, an enthusiastic traveller, on trips abroad, often to visit their daughter Jill, who studied abroad and later settled in Strasbourg, France. At home, she was happy in their garden, which she planned and planted with great care, creating an oasis of colour for friends and family to enjoy. It was also there that their grandchildren, Mary and Helene, made their second home, learning from their grandparents at Balconie, what it meant to have a Highland heritage. Jill’s visits home with her husband Jean-Marie and daughters were always welcome.
Mora died on 25 December in Urray House, Muir of Ord, at 89, very early on Christmas Day. She had only been there two days and died peacefully, content that she had seen so many of those dear to her during her last days and that she had been able to thank them for their friendship to her over the years.
Many friends and former colleagues gathered in Kiltearn Parish Church for Mora’s funeral on 4th January 2019. The service was conducted by Reverend Charles Robertson.[493]
Acknowledgement*
Sincere thanks go to the staff and residents of Urray House, Muir of Ord, who made Mora so welcome for even a few days. Warm thanks also to Rev. Charles Robertson who conducted the funeral service, and to his wife Alison, for playing the organ. Most of all, thanks to Alan Johnstone, Allison Murray, Maureen Rose and Patricia O’Sullivan who made it possible for Mora to stay until the very end of her life at Balconie, as she wished. Thanks too, to all the friends who supported her in this decision, bringing her much happiness in her last years.
