John Davenport Moore

John D. Moore, 85, of Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and Nantucket passed away Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in his residence surrounded by family after a long illness. He was the beloved husband of Elizabeth “Liz” (Maynard) Isherwood-Moore.

Born in Fairhaven, a son of the late John E. and Edith M. (Davenport) Moore he lived most of his life in Fairhaven.

John graduated from Bates College with an A.B. in Economics in 1957. He received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth in 1996. He was very proud of his military service in the United States Army during the Korean War.

John loved to be involved in civic and community organizations prior to his retirement from the company he founded, Moore & Isherwood Communications of New Bedford. Over the years, while living in Fairhaven, he served on the Board of Trustees of the Millicent Library, as chairman of the Fairhaven Cable Television Advisory Committee, trustee of Riverside Cemetery, Vice President of the Fairhaven Improvement Association, Board of Directors of the Fairhaven Boys Club, chairman of the Fairhaven Personnel Board, member of the Fairhaven Finance Committee, Vice Chairman of the New Bedford/Fairhaven Harbor Development Commission and was a long time Fairhaven Town Meeting member.

He was a member of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, Chairman of the Board of the United Way of Greater New Bedford, Chairman for the Southeastern Massachusetts University Building Authority of Dartmouth, Board of Directors of the Waterfront Historical Area League (WHALE), Governing Committee of the Zeiterion Theatre and chairman of the Advisory Board of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

John was all about helping people and was honored on two occasions to receive “Hats Off” awards in the New Bedford Standard Times. He was the recipient of the “Thanks for Bringing Us the Magic” award for initiating the New Year’s Eve “First Night” celebration in New Bedford and he was inducted into the New Bedford Chamber of Commerce Greater New Bedford Area Business Hall of Fame.

John was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed his years in Nantucket fishing and boating with family and friends. When not on the boat or 4 wheeling on the beach with his black lab, Maddie, he could be found at the foot of Main Street, greeting tourists and giving advice which earned him the unofficial nickname “Mayor of Nantucket”.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, John N. Moore and his wife Angela of Boston, daughter, Jennifer Foley of Dartmouth, son, David D. Moore of Havertown, PA, son, Bradford R. Moore of Media, PA and stepdaughter, Allison Isherwood of Marion; two sisters, Anne Silveira of Fairhaven and Jane Thompson of Dighton; ten grandchildren, Lauren Kearney, MD and her husband, James, Rebecca Moore, Matthew Foley, Brendan Foley, Leah Moore, Caroline Moore, Samantha Moore, Jeremy Moore, Nicholas Claudio and Ella Claudio; one great granddaughter, Avery Rae Kearney; and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Patricia Martin, RN and all the staff of Community Home Care for the tremendous care provided to John during his illness.

His memorial visitation will be Friday, March 29, 2019 from 10 to 11 a.m. in the WARING-SULLIVAN HOME at FAIRLAWN, 180 Washington St., Fairhaven with a service at 11 a.m. in the funeral home. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, 274 Main St., Fairhaven. Donations in his memory may be made to the Humane Society & Shelter-SouthCoast, 31 Ventura Dr., Dartmouth, MA 02747 or www.hsssc.org or Community Nurse Home Care, 62 Center St., Fairhaven, MA 02719 or www.communitynurse.com. For online tribute or directions www.waring-sullivan.com.