MORAGO, Edwin L.

Kingman Daily Miner, Kingman, AZ - Published on July 23, 2013 - Edwin L. Morago passed into eternity on Monday, June 24, 2013, in Gilbert, Ariz. His life began on a ranch on April 20, 1924, in what is now the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness area near the town of Klondyke in southeast Arizona. His parents were Louis and Guadalupe "Lucy" Morago. During his childhood, he was cared for by his grandmother, Juana. His early life was on the ranches his dad cowboyed on. He was 16 when he came to work with his dad on the JHJ Ranch near Kingman. It was in Kingman, at the age of 24, that he met a young woman who was working at The White House Restaurant. Her name was Noma Brown and she had recently moved to Kingman with her brothers from Oklahoma. The story goes that the first time he saw her he said something to the effect that this was the girl he was going to marry, but by all accounts she was not nearly so sure. However, after a whirlwind romance, it was not very long before his prediction did come true and they were married on June 30, 1948. They were married for 54 years until Noma's death; together they raised six children. Ed, or Eddie as he was often called, worked construction as well as other jobs. When the Isabel Construction Company came to Kingman to develop the Mineral Park Copper Mine, he was on the powder crew that began the process of creating the open-pit mine. He went on to work in the same capacity for the Duval Corporation. In the mid-sixties he met L.W. Hardy, who was trying to develop the turquoise business. Hardy was subcontracting the turquoise at the Mineral Park site because of the abundant and beautiful turquoise it produced. He was struggling, however, with a number of problems. Ed became the mine supervisor for Hardy and together, because of their hard work, the rise in popularity of turquoise jewelry and Ed's trustworthiness, the L.W. Hardy Corporation became a multi-million dollar business. He had lifetime loves for country music and horses. He was an accomplished guitarist and played for many years and had a number of popular bands that played the local area. His love for horses meant that he quite often had a horse or two throughout the years, and in the mid-seventies he and Noma and the two children still at home moved to Oklahoma to raise appaloosa horses. After several years, they and the horses moved back to Kingman. He built two of the homes himself that his family lived in. He often called himself a jack of all trades and master of none. Ed's greatest challenge came when Noma was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001. He rose to the challenge and was at her side day and night for those last 18 months of her life, tenderly caring for her until the end. He is survived by his six children, Lee Morago of Kingman, La Ree Simon of Gilbert, Glenn Morago of Murrieta, Calif., Susan Johnson of Glendale, Ariz., Juanita Morago of Kingman, and Christine Gorra, also of Kingman. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His children would like to thank the caregivers of Eden Adult Care Facility for their exceptionally good and gentle care for their dad during the last months of his life. It was a wonderful place for him to be, especially since he could be near horses until the end of his life. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at the Desert Church of Christ, 2345 Gordon Drive, Kingman.