Carolyn Cusac Moon, 81, of Davenport passed away Thursday, May 4, 2017, at Genesis East Hospital. Funeral services will be at 2:00 pm on Sunday May 7, 2017, at the Calvary United Methodist Church, Walcott. Visitation will be from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Saturday at the Runge Mortuary.
Carolyn was born March 13, 1936, in Oklahoma, to Alma and Bryce Cusac. She lived in many different cities growing up as her mother sought employment during the Depression and then WWII. She graduated from Central High School in Springfield, Missouri, and went on to college at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, where she often reminisced that tuition was $23 per semester. She was in the Alpha Sigma Pi sorority and was Miss Merrie Christmas. She was recruited to work for Lockheed Aircraft in California as a Computer Programmer Trainee in 1955. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Mathematics, in 1957.
After college she worked at The Boeing Company in Wichita, Kansas, as an Engineering Programmer, the only woman in the engineering department. Her job was very much like the women from the recent movie "Hidden Figures". She was frequently the only woman in the room and programmed a gigantic mainframe computer to solve engineering problems mainly for the B-52.
In Wichita, she married William ¨Bill¨ Moon, who worked at Standard Oil at the time. They moved to Kansas City to start a family and Carolyn became a homemaker. In 1965, Carolyn moved with Bill and her two young children to Walcott, Iowa, to purchase and operate the Iowa 80 Truckstop. After a third child, Carolyn returned to the work that she loved as Chief Computer Programmer for their business. For 50 years she worked at the Iowa 80 Truckstop and CAT Scale as Chairman of the Board, and Chief Information Officer until December of 2016. She went in to the office regularly until a few months ago.
Carolyn and Bill loved to travel together, and after Bill died in 1992, Carolyn continued to travel often with friends and family. She was always up for an adventure to a part of the world she loved or wanted to explore. She travelled to Hawaii, Mexico, Greece, Italy, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, England, Hong King, Australia, Germany, Ireland and navigated the Panama Canal with in a small sailboat for New Year's 2000.
Carolyn could make anything and loved to craft and sew. She made beautiful clothes, home furnishings, gifts and Halloween costumes for her kids. She loved to make and collect doll houses and was local President of the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts. She spent many hours around a table with her miniature friends talking, laughing, and making sofas out of Velveeta boxes. She and Bill collected antique toys together and loved traveling the country looking for treasures to decorate their businesses. Much of her world class collection can be seen at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum, which she helped found. Her love of antiquing and crafting led her to serve as President of the Walnut Grove Questers.
Carolyn was active in the American Association of University Women in Davenport where she served as treasurer. She was a founding member of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators winning their Distinguished Member Award in 2003. Ernst and Young awarded Carolyn the Iowa Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2000. Junior Achievement of the Heartland inducted Carolyn and Bill into the Business Hall of Fame in 2006.
Carolyn was a pioneer in her field of computer programming, women in business, and was always willing to help her grandchildren with their math homework. She taught her kids and her grandkids to love crafting, art, travel, work and family.
She is survived by her son, Will (Renee) Moon, daughters Delia (Dave) Meier, Carolyn Jill (Richard Seehuus) Moon, and grandchildren Bill Moon, Ben Moon, Sarah Moon, Nell Meier, Lee Meier, Lana Meier, Alexandra Seehuus, Abby Seehuus, Miriam Maikon, and Sarah Maikon.
Memorials may be made to Iowa 80 Trucking Museum or Calvary United Methodist Church in Walcott. Online condolences may be expressed at www.rungemortuary.com .
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