GENEVA – Helen Marie (Ferris) Moran, 90, died on October 25, 2016 at St. Vincent's Hospital, Worcester, Mass. Calling hours will be from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday (October 30) at McGuigan & Bero Funeral Home, 45 High Street, Geneva, N.Y. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday (October 31) at St. Stephen's RC Church, Pulteney Street, Geneva, N.Y., with internment at St. Patrick's Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations to the Geneva Public Library, would be appreciated.Helen was born on December 5, 1925, to Helen Hanrahan and Frederick Ferris, in Geneva, NY, the youngest of three children. Helen was a 1943 graduate of De Sales High School. Following graduation, she began working in the commissary at Sampson Naval Training Base, Romulus, N.Y., where thousands of troops were being trained to serve, in World War II. During this time, she completed training as a volunteer junior hostess, with the Geneva USO. There, she participated in planning and attending weekend social events, to provide a break for the troops. In January 1944, Helen took a position as a technician in the Food Science & Technology Dept. at the NYS Experiment Station. There, she worked on dehydration processes for military provisions and early freezing techniques for preserving fruits. She loved cars and travel with friends and family. She saved for three years to buy a car, while planning a trip to visit her best friend, Mary Jane and sister Kay Moran, in California, in 1944. Helen and her sister Jane, her mother and a friend, traveled west on Route 66, with side trips to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley along the way. Helen's friendship with Mary Jane led to her meeting her future husband, Mary Jane's brother, Harry F. Moran, Jr., of Geneva. They were married on April 17, 1950, at St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church. They had two children, Sue and Tom. Helen was a devoted mother, who stayed home to raise her children, returning to the workforce in the mid-1960's, at the Geneva Board of Education. She took every opportunity to travel with family, to the southeast and the Midwestern US and to Canada. Later, she traveled with her husband to England, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Ireland, where she developed an interest in learning about her family roots. Helen became an avid genealogist, doing research at Ontario and Seneca County Archives, Mormon Family History Center, Geneva Historical Society and in New England and Canada. She and Sue developed extensive information on the Moran and Ferris family history. This culminated in a trip to Ireland, where she met relatives discovered through her research. Following the death of her husband, in 1990, Helen began traveling with her two children, to Jamaica, Barbados, Mexico, Panama, Curacao, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Belize, Grenada, Trinidad, Tobago and Ecuador. She developed a passion for hiking and for exploring the Amazon and cloud rainforests. She enjoyed the beaches and unique country sides and loved to sample local cuisines. Her lifelong love of cars caused her to buy a black Ford Mustang GT with racing stripes and a "five-on-the-floor" manual transmission, while in her early 80's. She enjoyed spirited rides, around the Finger Lakes, in this car with her family and friends. Helen relocated to Shrewsbury Crossings assisted living facility, in Shrewsbury, Mass., near her daughter, at age 88. She continued to be active in her new community, in exercise classes, enjoying time with new friends, contributing to genealogy work and working on a project with Sue and the residents and Program Director, at the assisted living facility to honor veterans using the www.wwiimemorial.com website. Helen knew how to live life to the fullest and leave her mark. She will be sadly missed by her family, daughter, Sue, of Connecticut; son, Tom and wife, Carilee, of Michigan; granddaughter, Dr. Amy Moran Wachoviak and husband, Ryan, of Wisconsin; her sister-in-law, Kay Samuell and brother-in-law, Ed Samuell, of Texas; as well as by many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by many long-time friends, including John Juliano, of Connecticut, Carmie Alexander and family, Germaine Liberatore, Allie Van Gordon, Bill and Donna Hirons, Lottie Angelo, Joan Doeblin and Deanne McClellan-Tuck, all of Geneva. She was predeceased by her husband, of 40 years, Harry F. Moran, Jr.; her brother, Fred and wife, Virginia (Beaudry) Ferris, of Dearborn, Michigan; sister, Jane and brother-in-law, William Gallipeau, of Seneca Castle; sister-in-law, Joanne (Moran) Vandemortel Venturino, of Geneva; brother-in law, Tom Moran and wife, Joan (Dixon), of Turnerville, N.J.For tributes and condolences to the family, please visit www.mcguiganberofuneralhome.com.