Joe Grady Moore III

His memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 27, at First Baptist Church, 901 Trinity St. in Austin. It will be followed by a reception from noon to 2:30 p.m. in the gym at Martin Middle School, 1601 Haskell St. in Austin.

An Austin native, Joe was a born teacher and leader. Though he did not begin teaching middle school students until he was 38, he was always teaching and learning from others. His special gift was listening to and being present. Joe took time to listen and to share. Helping others was his priority, whether they were friends, strangers, or the thousands of students he mentored during his more than 25 years of teaching.

Because he was intelligent, outgoing, and personable, Joe was told throughout his life that he had “great potential.” And he did, though it took him a while to find his calling. During his teens and twenties, Joe struggled with alcohol and drug abuse. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he spent four years living in Ireland, working illegally at bars and restaurants. There he met and married a young Irish woman, though the marriage ended in divorce a few years later after they moved to Austin.

Through the efforts of friends, Joe was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous. Though, as Joe said later, “I fought sobriety long and hard,” on Aug. 8, 1989, Joe became sober with the help of his AA sponsors and friends. At the time of his death, Joe had been sober for almost 35 years. He sponsored many others in their journeys to sobriety. “I learned that by helping others, I help myself,” he said.

Joe harnessed his potential. Ignoring numerous failed attempts at college, he went to Southwest Texas State (now Texas State), graduating in 1996 with a teaching degree with a focus in geography and history. He was hired by Martin Middle School in Austin ISD that fall, where he taught history and reading and coached football for over 15 years.

He then took a couple years off from teaching, enrolling in a pastoral counseling program at an Austin seminary. Joe also was the primary caregiver for his mother, who had dementia, from 2009 until her death in 2017.

In 2015, Joe began teaching history and social studies at Del Valle Middle School, where he coached the school’s B-teams for two years. He was on medical leave from Del Valle at the time of his death.

Joe had a heart for teaching students who struggled because of economic or social disadvantages or challenging home lives. He wanted to make a difference in the lives of students who, as he said, “needed me.” Joe was honored as Teacher of the Year at both Martin and Del Valle and was named Teacher of the Month numerous times at both schools.

He loved his dogs; Louie, Rowdy, Lucky, Bonnie, Clyde, and Winston were some of his canine friends. Joe was a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Austin, where he had taught Sunday school and had served on committees. He also was a cast member in several plays produced by Trinity Street Players, including “Shadowlands,” “Inherit the Wind,” and “Our Town.”

Preceding him in death were his parents, Jerry C. Moore and Joe G. Moore, Jr.

Survivors include his sister, Anntoinette “Toni” Moore, and brother-in-law, Phil Clymer, of Tyler; sister-in-law Judy Keeney, of Milford, Ohio; numerous Moore, Thornton, and Watley cousins; fellow alumni of the McCallum High School Class of 1976; and hundreds of friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Martin Middle School, C/O Joe Moore, 1601 Haskell, Austin, TX 78702; Del Valle Middle School, Joe Grady Moore Scholarship Fund, Attn. Baker, 5500 Ross Road, Del Valle, TX 78617; and A.N. McCallum High School, Class of 1976 Scholarships, Attn. Camille Nix, 5600 Sunshine Dr., Austin, TX 78756.