IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Joseph Handy
Moore
April 7, 1929 – September 19, 2015
Obituary
CHARLESTON - Joseph Handy Moore died Saturday, September 19th, 2015 at the Charleston Manor. He was 86 years old.
A great lover of music, Joe could often be caught singing, whistling, or dancing. All who encountered Joe remember him as the kindest, most genteel of men, who always had a ready smile. He was never heard to complain about anything, but lived out his life with a patient joy.
Joe was born at home in Charleston, MO, on April 7th, 1929 to Faye Dorothy (Smith) Moore and Benjamin Bird Moore, Sr. He and his older siblings, Ben Bird and Faye, were always very close.
Growing up, Joe played a very active role in the daily work of his family's farm, which contained horses, chickens, goats, milk cows, and pigs.
After graduating from high school in 1947, Joe attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he received a B.A. in Psychology. He then worked various different jobs, including as dance instructor for Arthur Murray Dance Studios in Mobile, AL, where he quickly gained distinction.
After a few years, he returned to the University of Missouri, Columbia to study Accounting. While in that degree program, Joe was called to serve in the Korean War. He was offered a student exemption, but declined. On February 21, 1951, he joined the United States Army where he served in the Artillery Division of the Infantry for two years having obtained the rank of Corporal. Following his honorable discharge on February 21, 1953, he was transferred to the Army Reserve where he served for 5 years.
Following his service, he returned to school, and completed his B.S. in Accounting. The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs offered him an accounting position, which he found to be very fulfilling. It included spending countless hours on Indian reservations working with Native Americans, a people whose culture and plight he always held very dear. During the time that he worked for the Bureau, he traveled to all of the 48 contiguous States, both for work and for pleasure.
An avid conservationist and nature-lover, Joe was in his element in the great outdoors. He hiked in all of the U.S. mountain ranges, participated in geological and archeological digs, rode long distances on horses and his bicycle, and participated in Audubon bird-counts.
It was on one such bird count that Joe met his future wife, Martha Anne Pierceall. They hit it off right away and were married on August 14, 1982 at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Charleston, MO. He retired and bought a small house in the country on an 88-acre plot of land, where he spent countless hours caring for the land, including his beloved one-acre vegetable garden. He and Martha had two children, John Pierceall and Anne Bird, who remember him as the most hard-working and loving of fathers. He was always ready to sacrifice himself for them and for his wife.
Joseph is survived by his wife of 33 years, Martha Pierceall Moore, children John Pierceall Moore of Cape Girardeau, MO, and his wife Christine Susan (Spence) Moore, and Anne Bird (Moore) Meyer of Saint Louis, MO, her husband Neal Meyer, and their three children, Kateri Therese, Benedict Joseph, and Augustine Thomas. Also surviving are nieces (Julia Ely, Jennifer Ely, Susan Ely, Angela Malo, Susan Naumann) and nephews (Hunter Ely, Daniel Pierceall, and David Naumann). He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin Bird Moore, Sr. and Faye Dorothy (Smith) Moore, and brother Benjamin Bird Moore, Jr. and sister, Faye (Moore) Ely.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 PM on Tuesday, September 22nd at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston, MO.
Funeral service will be the following morning at 10 AM at the United Methodist Church in Charleston, MO. Rev. David Collum, pastor, will officiate.
Interment will follow at I.O.O.F. Cemetery near Charleston.
Pallbearers will be John Moore, Hunter Ely, Hugh Hunter Byrd, Neal Meyer, Sam Babb, and Tom Wallgren.
Online condolences may be shared at www.mcmiklefuneralhome.com
Charitable donations may be made in his honor to the following:
- Mississippi County Historical Society http://www.misscohistoricalsociety.org/Information.aspx
- National Audubon Society https://secure.audubon.org/site/Donation2…
- St. Labre Indian School http://www.stlabre.org/ways-to-give/#.VgALCtOCPCQ
- World Wildlife Fund https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Donation2…
A great lover of music, Joe could often be caught singing, whistling, or dancing. All who encountered Joe remember him as the kindest, most genteel of men, who always had a ready smile. He was never heard to complain about anything, but lived out his life with a patient joy.
Joe was born at home in Charleston, MO, on April 7th, 1929 to Faye Dorothy (Smith) Moore and Benjamin Bird Moore, Sr. He and his older siblings, Ben Bird and Faye, were always very close.
Growing up, Joe played a very active role in the daily work of his family's farm, which contained horses, chickens, goats, milk cows, and pigs.
After graduating from high school in 1947, Joe attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he received a B.A. in Psychology. He then worked various different jobs, including as dance instructor for Arthur Murray Dance Studios in Mobile, AL, where he quickly gained distinction.
After a few years, he returned to the University of Missouri, Columbia to study Accounting. While in that degree program, Joe was called to serve in the Korean War. He was offered a student exemption, but declined. On February 21, 1951, he joined the United States Army where he served in the Artillery Division of the Infantry for two years having obtained the rank of Corporal. Following his honorable discharge on February 21, 1953, he was transferred to the Army Reserve where he served for 5 years.
Following his service, he returned to school, and completed his B.S. in Accounting. The Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs offered him an accounting position, which he found to be very fulfilling. It included spending countless hours on Indian reservations working with Native Americans, a people whose culture and plight he always held very dear. During the time that he worked for the Bureau, he traveled to all of the 48 contiguous States, both for work and for pleasure.
An avid conservationist and nature-lover, Joe was in his element in the great outdoors. He hiked in all of the U.S. mountain ranges, participated in geological and archeological digs, rode long distances on horses and his bicycle, and participated in Audubon bird-counts.
It was on one such bird count that Joe met his future wife, Martha Anne Pierceall. They hit it off right away and were married on August 14, 1982 at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Charleston, MO. He retired and bought a small house in the country on an 88-acre plot of land, where he spent countless hours caring for the land, including his beloved one-acre vegetable garden. He and Martha had two children, John Pierceall and Anne Bird, who remember him as the most hard-working and loving of fathers. He was always ready to sacrifice himself for them and for his wife.
Joseph is survived by his wife of 33 years, Martha Pierceall Moore, children John Pierceall Moore of Cape Girardeau, MO, and his wife Christine Susan (Spence) Moore, and Anne Bird (Moore) Meyer of Saint Louis, MO, her husband Neal Meyer, and their three children, Kateri Therese, Benedict Joseph, and Augustine Thomas. Also surviving are nieces (Julia Ely, Jennifer Ely, Susan Ely, Angela Malo, Susan Naumann) and nephews (Hunter Ely, Daniel Pierceall, and David Naumann). He was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin Bird Moore, Sr. and Faye Dorothy (Smith) Moore, and brother Benjamin Bird Moore, Jr. and sister, Faye (Moore) Ely.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 PM on Tuesday, September 22nd at McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston, MO.
Funeral service will be the following morning at 10 AM at the United Methodist Church in Charleston, MO. Rev. David Collum, pastor, will officiate.
Interment will follow at I.O.O.F. Cemetery near Charleston.
Pallbearers will be John Moore, Hunter Ely, Hugh Hunter Byrd, Neal Meyer, Sam Babb, and Tom Wallgren.
Online condolences may be shared at www.mcmiklefuneralhome.com
Charitable donations may be made in his honor to the following:
- Mississippi County Historical Society http://www.misscohistoricalsociety.org/Information.aspx
- National Audubon Society https://secure.audubon.org/site/Donation2…
- St. Labre Indian School http://www.stlabre.org/ways-to-give/#.VgALCtOCPCQ
- World Wildlife Fund https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Donation2…
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