Lorna was born April 2, 1936, at Wall to Dewey and Faye (Shull) Hoffman. She grew up on the home place two miles south of Creighton on a farm/ranch and went to grade school at the Pleasant Ridge School and later at Wall High School.
Lorna loved ranching, riding good horses, and breaking and training her own horses for competition in rodeos and horse shows and just valuable horses for ranch work. Lorna liked that fingertip control on the reins and never used force for training. Her horses loved and trusted her.
Lorna entered the 6th Annual South Dakota High School Rodeo when she was a junior in high school which was the first year girls were able to compete in. She won the All Around at the State level and qualified for the National Finals in 1953 and 1954. In 1953 she was the first girl to win the Faith Rodeo Queen Contest. Her friend and rodeo contractor, Eddie Bachman, entered her in the contest without her knowledge. It was a surprise when she heard her name over the loudspeaker to line up for the Queen contest! She rode her own beautiful little buckskin mare named Queenie and won first place.
Lorna was blessed to have rode good horses her entire life. She lost her last faithful, loving and kind horse, Darcy, in 2015. Lorna hoped this was said about her: “She always rode good horses”. When I leave this world for a better place, I am hoping they have some more good horses there.
Lorna married Lyle O’Bryan on July 16, 1956, at Wall, and to this union five children were born. They lived and worked south of Belvidere for the Baxter Berry ranch and later moved to the old Thode Place three miles south of Belvidere so the children would be closer to school.
In 1985 Lorna bought, remodeled, and turned the old Texaco Gas Station into a café in Belvidere. In 1988 she turned the café over to her daughter, Terry, to run and at that time moved to Wall. Lorna worked at the Sunshine Inn Motel as desk clerk for the next 26 years in Wall.
On October 14, 1989, she married George Moore at Wall where they lived until moving to Quinn in 2000.
Lorna’s hobbies included painting artwork in oils and watercolors. This was Lorna’s life but as she often said, “different strokes for different folks”.
Survivors include five children: Terry Lynn (Chris) Baldwin of Belvidere, Tammy Jo (Brett) Prang of Kadoka, Scot James (Jodie) O’Bryan of Belvidere, Shelly Rae O’Bryan of Cottonwood, and Casey Wade (Darla) O’Bryan of Portales, NM; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a host of other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband George Moore; parents; brothers: Floyd Hoffman, Maurice Hoffman, and Ray Hoffman; sisters: Rachael Elizabeth “Betty” Hoffman and Hattie Colleen Hennessey.
Memorial services will be held 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 19, at the United Methodist Church in Wall with Pastor Justin Trent and Pastor Kathy Chesney officiating.
Interment will follow at the Wall Cemetery.