Ann Carole Moylan

Ann Carole Moylan died Saturday, May 30, 2020 surrounded by her children. Ann Carole was born to Katherine L. (Sheehan) McGurkin and Francis Michael McGurkin in Hartford, CT on Christmas Day, 1937; the youngest of their five children. Her middle name was chosen to commemorate her Christmas birth and it would be 70 years before she shared a secret with her grandchildren that she never had a birthday cake! Raised in E. Hartford, CT, she was very proud of her Irish Catholic roots and the perseverance of her family during the Great Depression. She carried her family’s fierce loyalty to one another, unbending religious faith, civic mindedness and commitment to sports to guide her own life and to instill in others.
Ann Carole received her nurse training from St. Peter’s School of Nursing in Albany, NY. Home on holiday, a last-minute stand-in date for a dance, set up by her mother led to a remarkable partnership and 51-year marriage to Dr. Joseph (Joe) A. Moylan.
When Joe started medical school at Boston University, Ann Carole worked as a home care nurse in the neighborhoods of South Boston before becoming the amazing mother of 4 boys and 2 girls. She returned to nursing in the 1980’s working part-time at Duke University Medical Center with quadriplegic and paraplegic patients on nights and weekends. Ann Carole and Joe moved from Boston following his graduation from medical school to Seattle to San Antonio to Madison, Wisconsin as Joe pursued his surgical career before settling in Durham and at Duke University Medical Center in 1975. She immediately became involved in the community becoming a fixture not only on the tennis courts but during the founding years of Meals on Wheels, where she has volunteered for over 40 years. Her children and grandchildren would be regular ride-along companions on her meal delivery route and experience her compassion and the friendships built with those she served. Even from her hospital bed this week, she was insistent that Meals on Wheels be notified that she was unable to check in on “her people.” She was recognized multiple times for her volunteer service which focused on some of this community’s most vulnerable - a segment of the population she worried were being left behind in Durham’s resurgence. She also held deep commitments to Senior PharmAssist. As a parishioner of more than 40 years at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Ann Carole’s faith was the foundation of her marriage to Joe and guided her daily to be a servant to God, her family and community.
Ann Carole would never have used the term “entrepreneur” to describe herself but she was instrumental in the founding of two significant organizations. She liked to tell people that “when most kids go off to college, they leave a dog for their parents to take care of. My sons left me a business.” Her characteristic understatement when talking about herself belies the tremendously significant role she played in the founding of Eurosport (now soccer.com) in 1984 which is the largest soccer specialty retailer in the world. She successfully ran the business without compromising her own sense of priorities, opening after all her kids left for school, leaving to attend all her children’s sporting events, volunteering, closing on Sundays, and serving as a surrogate mother to the entire staff. Quite often her Depression Era values had her telling soccer moms they were spending too much money on their children. She filled numerous roles: customer service, shipping, returns, accounting, IT, maintenance, but most importantly she built a culture that has been the bedrock of the company’s success.
In 2001 Ann Carole and Joe founded the Durham Nativity School (DNS); a tuition free middle school for boys which empowers them to make a difference in the world. Because of Ann Carole and Joe’s faith and commitment to the Durham community, specifically young minority males, the mission of DNS embodies the elements they believed were so important in their children’s lives: a high quality education & pathway to college, family involvement, exposure to life outside of Durham, interaction with people of different backgrounds, community service and physical activity. Over 90% of the students qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program. The school offers an extended day and year curriculum with the mission of the young men earning scholarships to college preparatory schools. Since its founding 135 students have graduated from the school with more than 90% going to college preparatory school and college. She downplayed her role in the establishment of the DNS by telling people that when Joe was preparing to retire from Duke, I told him that “I married him for breakfast and dinner, he has to find somewhere else to go for lunch!” Like in so many things, they were truly a team in the founding of the school. Similar to her role in starting up Eurosport she took on any task that needed to be done, but it was always her time with the young men that she cherished the most. She has remained the most ardent supporter of “the DNS men” and their families.
Ann Carole loved to walk and was often spotted miles from her home. While she was happy to walk the streets of Durham or local trails, she also travelled the world to trek. She and Joe completed the Coast to Coast Walk in England, Milford Trek in New Zealand, The Camino de Santiago in Spain, Torres del Paine in Chile, and found themselves in Tiananmen Square in 1989 as history unfolded.
Ann Carole must have had a light that shown brightly in the night sky above her home that read “Vacancy – All Welcome.” Even with 6 children and an incredibly busy life, there were always extra people at the table and more often than not, overnight house guests. She opened her home to young men and women from around the United States and the world; some stayed for dinner while others for years. These house guests were in addition to the countless others at holiday dinners and large groups of her children’s college friends enjoying home cooked meals.
She was a presence in the lives of each of her 20 grandchildren and was often seen at 3 different sporting events in the same afternoon cheering them on. As everyone knows, she was always happy to share the latest successes of one of them. Her greatest joy every year was the annual “Moylan Family Sunburn” at Sunset Beach where she was surrounded by her entire family. Every morning she manned the griddle making pancakes until the last of the grandchildren had eaten. She sat on the porch in her rocking chair reading through the day and sharing conversation. She celebrated her 80th birthday with her children and grandchildren at a dude ranch where she saddled up for the first time.
She built a unique and strong relationship with each of her 6 children. At times giving so much attention that they almost felt they were her favorite and only child. Her love for her kids and grandkids was matched by her love for her daughters-in-law and son-in law whom she treated and valued as her own. Even after the advent of social media Ann Carole would continue to share newspaper clippings of life events of former classmates and friends or news stories that she thought would be of interest. She taught and lived the importance of humility, faith, service and above all, family.
Ann Carole is preceded in death by her husband Joe, and is survived by her children, Sean P. (Cara) Moylan of West Hartford, CT, Michael F. (Morgan) Moylan of Hillsborough, NC, Brendan J. (Cindy) Moylan of Durham, NC, Maura M. Sullivan of Durham, NC, Kiernan P. (Krissy) Moylan of Vero Beach, FL, and Kathleen M. (Darin) Little of Hillsborough, NC; grandchildren, Declan, Mairin, Eamon, Maeve & Quinlan Moylan; Finn, Donovan, Rory & Maisie Moylan; Beckett & Fergus Moylan; Nick, Maddy, Owen & Bridget Sullivan; Liam, Seamus & Sloane Moylan; and Lucas & Shelby Little.
“Go Easy” Ann Carole. We will always remember to go “Onward and Upward.”
Thank you to the incredible staff at Duke University Hospital for their caring support of the Moylan Family.
A private funeral Mass will be offered in Immaculate Conception Church, with a celebration of Ann Carole’s life to occur when all her friends and family are able to gather safely. Until then take some walks and think of her.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Durham Nativity School: durhamnativity.org. or PO Box 3537, Durham, NC 27702. Arrangements are with Hall-Wynne Funeral Service. Online memorials: hallwynne.com