Goldie Moran, wife of former sheriff, dies

Monday, Dec. 22, 2003 | 10:54 a.m.

Goldie Moran lived most of her adult life by the saying, "Behind every great man there is a great woman."

For 52 years Moran, who stood just under 5 feet tall, was a giant force in the life of her husband, 6-foot-2 Clark County Sheriff John Moran, who died in 1998 four years after retiring.

At John's funeral, Goldie walked with one hand on the casket as it passed down the aisle of St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church.

"I remember for so many years when I saw the sheriff, Goldie would be at his side," Sun Editor and President Brian Greenspun, a longtime friend, said. "It has been 5 1/2 years since the two of them have been together, and it is comforting to know they are together once again."

Crysanthia "Goldie" Moran, matriarch of the prominent Las Vegas family that includes, in addition to her husband, her son, Las Vegas attorney John Moran Jr. and late longtime local business leader Dimitrios "Jim" Shetakis, died Saturday at a local hospital following a brief illness. She was 81.

Services for the woman her family called "Mighty Mouse" will be 9 a.m. Tuesday at St. John the Baptist Church, 5300 El Camino Road. A graveside service will follow at Palm Mortuary-Eastern, where Goldie will be interred next to her husband.

"Goldie was considered a force behind her husband's rise to one of the most prominent (elected) offices in the county and state," said daughter-in-law Marilyn Moran, wife of John Jr. "She will be remembered as a tiny giant."

Greenspun said, "When you look at the real pioneers of modern-day Las Vegas, you cannot ignore the contributions of Goldie Moran. She not only was the real power behind one of the most beloved and respected sheriffs of Clark County, but she also raised a proud and strong family."

John Moran, whose progressive leadership was credited with reducing crime in Las Vegas amid an unprecedented population boom, died June 22, 1998, at age 75.

At his funeral, former Undersheriff Eric Cooper said that while Moran had boasted that he was the boss in his home, it was Goldie who ruled the roost. Cooper recalled how Moran, in an effort to surprise his wife, traded in her pride-and-joy 1957 Ford Thunderbird for a then-new 1961 T-Bird. He then faced the full brunt of her ire.

"He always consulted her on car purchases after that," Cooper said.

"Goldie, John loved you with a devotion that was so pure in its intensity I wondered how one man could be so consumed with one woman," Cooper said during his eulogy. "You were his rock."

A week after John's funeral, Goldie made a special appearance at an event her husband had wanted to attend -- the 25th anniversary of the merging of the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Office into the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The event was highlighted by a tribute to John Moran. Goldie received a standing ovation from the nearly 1,000 Metro employees at the ceremony.

"John loved Metro," Goldie told the crowd, choking back tears. "He did everything he could to make it a better department."

She presented then-Sheriff Jerry Keller with checks from well-wishers who had made donations in John Moran's memory to the Injured Police Officers Fund, a charity John had started. Moran also was credited with starting the local police academy, helicopter program, major case squad, 911 system, search-and-rescue unit, bike patrol, gang diversion unit and DARE.

Born Crysanthia Shetakis in Rock Springs, Wyo., on Feb. 23, 1922, Goldie was one of three children of Greek immigrants Harry Shetakis and the former Helen Sapsakis. Her lifelong nickname was derived from her first name, which is Greek for "gold."

Harry, a coal miner, was killed in a 1929 cave-in. Helen Shetakis remarried and moved to Modesto, where, in 1945, Goldie and John were introduced by John's parents.

The future sheriff was a Marine who had fought at Iwo Jima and left the service at the rank of captain. The couple married in 1945 following a whirlwind romance and moved to Las Vegas in 1947.

John initially joined Goldie's brother, Jim Shetakis, in the wholesale dry goods business, but the fledgling company would not support both families. So in November 1948 Moran joined the Las Vegas Police Department and walked the Fremont Street beat. Goldie worked at the Las Vegas Municipal Golf Course.

Moran quit the police force in 1960 to start his own security business. In 1963 Moran became a deputy chief in the Las Vegas force. When the two departments merged, Moran became an undersheriff to Lamb.

In 1977 the Morans purchased what would be their longtime home, a condominium in the Regency Towers. Goldie lived there until her death.

In addition to her son, Goldie Moran is survived by another son, Richard Moran; six grandchildren, J.T. Moran III and his wife Jody, Zachary Moran, Andrew Moran, Ashley Moran and Christopher Moran, all of Las Vegas, and Dr. Addie Moran of Los Angeles; three nieces, Libby Brost and Lenni Dardanelli, both of Los Gatos, Calif., and Stephanie Jones of New York City; two nephews, Lou Christie of Los Gatos, and Jimmy Shetakis of Las Vegas; and three great nieces.

Moran also was preceded in death by Jim Shetakis and two sisters, Mariyo "Mary" Shetakis Giannakos and Georgia Gianopulos Christie.

The family said donations can be made in Goldie Moran's memory to the Injured Police Officers Fund.