Martha Moore

Martha Adele Moore, age 98, died peacefully in her sleep on May 31, 2014 at the Towne House Retirement Home, where she had lived for ten years. Born in Ligonier, Indiana on June 4, 1915, to William and Edna Feldman, she lived in Fort Wayne from the age of 12 to the end of her life, and was widely known for the kindness and generosity she showed to the people with whom she came in contact. She had a very large capacity for friendship, with a sense of charity and hospitality toward others that helped her keep the friends she inevitably made at every stage in her life: from high school at North Side (class of ‘33), to beloved mother in a large neighborhood full baby boomer families, to more than two decades of working and volunteering as an adult education professional, and finally, as an active member of the Towne House community. Her journey to a career, late in life, as an adult education teacher began when her beloved husband of twenty years, Luther Ernest, died suddenly in 1966; the next year, she completed her degree in education from (what was then) St. Francis Teachers College, and began to work for the Ft. Wayne Public School System. She gravitated toward adult education, eventually finishing a MA in that field. She retired from teaching in 1982, but continued to work and volunteer as a tutor for more nearly a decade and half after that. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, it was not uncommon to see her small frame, white hair showing from under her beret, marching with determined steps toward the Anthis Center, and carrying a tote bag full of study materials that always seemed to be half as large as she was. The people who she helped to learn to read, or to speak English as a second language, or to get their GED always remembered her, greeting her in public or contacting by letter or phone for many years afterwards. It was natural for her to be a teacher because she always had a tremendous love of learning, especially for books on history and language, or the newest developments in science. She subscribed to Science News for fifty years, and frequently reported to her family and friends (even in the last months of her life) on the latest interesting things she had been reading there. This love of learning extended to her spiritual life, as well; a lifelong and active member of First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Wayne, she was a long-time, weekly volunteer at the church’s bookstore. In 1992 she received the Jefferson Award in recognition of her unselfish service to others. Her sense of service was still strong even after she moved to Towne House. Besides enjoying an active social life, she routinely volunteered to help in various ways, including delivering the First Pres newsletter to other residents from the church and going each week to the health center to read aloud to people there or to help manage the bingo game. An excellent cook, the Santa Claus cookies that she made, decorated and gave away every Christmas for more than 60 years, will be remembered by her friends and family as emblematic of the gifts of the time and the energy and the love that she gave away every day to the people around her. Preceded in death by her husband Luther Ernest Moore, she was a mother of three, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. She is survived by son Steven Bradley Moore and wife Kathy, grandson Nicolas and granddaughter Rebecca, of San Diego, California; son Terence Robert Moore and wife Shirley, grandson Eric of Knoxville, Tennessee and granddaughter Madeline (husband Sean Aultman) of Tallahassee, Florida; and daughter Barbara Anne Moyer and husband Bill of Fort Wayne, grandson Greg (wife Becky and great-grandchildren, Otto, Tatum and Hattie) of Carmel, IN, and granddaughter Kim (husband Ben Armstrong and great-grandchildren Nataley, Trevor and Gabriel) of Garret, IN. Funeral services will be held at First Presbyterian Church 300 W. Wayne Street on Thursday June 5 at 10:00 o’clock. The family will receive friends from 4:00 until 8:00 Wednesday June 4, 2014 at Klaehn, Fahl and Melton Funeral Home 420 W. Wayne St. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Burial will be in Sparta Cemetery, Kimmell, Indiana. Preferred Memorials are to the Fort Wayne Literacy Alliance 709 Clay St. Fort Wayne Indiana 46802. www.klaehnfahlmelton.com