Katherine Louise Phares Moore

Katherine Johnson Phares Moore passed away peacefully in her sleep due to complications from lung cancer on Tuesday, the 1st of September 2020 surrounded by her family in Austin. She was 86 years of age.

Kathy, or “Granny Kat” or “GiGi Kat” to her great-grandchildren, was born on the 14th of April 1934 in Port Arthur, Texas, to Edith and Louis B. Johnson. It was in Port Arthur where she met and married her first husband, William Bonner Phares Jr. in May of 1952. After Bonner unexpectedly passed away in July of 1970, Kathy raised her three daughters, Edith, Melinda and Lenore on her own. She moved her family from Port Arthur to Houston where she was introduced to and later married Dr. Thomas Overton Moore, Jr. in October of 1974. It was there in Houston where she developed a love for great home cooking, gardening, sewing, and needlepoint.

Some of Kathy’s fondest memories were stitched together at the lake house in Onalaska, Texas – where she and Tom would entertain friends, bringing their “Thirst Aid Kit” to the two-story boat dock to watch the gorgeous orange and pink sunsets. Kathy rarely missed an evening without playing Rummikub or a Liverpool Rummy card game with her friends while sipping her favorite cocktail, a Miss Vicki Dirty (Bombay Sapphire Gin) with olives over ice.

Kathy, a true native Texan - tough but fair, overly generous and loyal. She would not shy away from any challenge and was known for raising her shotgun if a squirrel went after her bird feeders. A talented needlepoint virtuoso in her later years, she would awaken early every day and get right to work on a creative project. Today, most of the great-grandchildren have beautiful Christmas stockings that took months to create.

Her arrival in Heaven may be better classified a grand reunion as Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, Edith and Louis Johnson; brothers, John and Bill Imhoff, Jr.; husbands, William Bonner Phares and Thomas O. Moore, Jr.; and daughters, Edith Aichelman and Lenore Belk Mann.

Kathy is survived by her three daughters, Melinda Phares McKenna, Ellen Moore and Sally Moore Gray; one son, Thomas O. Moore III; one brother, Fred Johnson; ten grandchildren, Ashley Aichelman Nguyen and children and Alec and Ember, Katherine Belk Trojan and children Mikayla and Melina, Christine McKenna, Tabitha and Sabrina Mann, Carol (Bailey) Moore Stevens, Ashley Moore Ronen, Michael, Matthew and Stephen David, Her legacy runs deep and remains strong.

The family would like to extend a note of thanks to all of her close friends and extended family who added so much joy and laughter to her life. A warm hug and thank you to Mary Stevens who lovingly cared for Kathy for over 30 years. We would also like to send out a special thanks to the great staff at MD Anderson who gave us the gift of more time together with Kathy and the nurses and counselors from Houston and Austin Hospice for their help in her final days.

A funeral service is to be conducted at one o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 5th of September, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. Kindly note that for the protection of all who visit the funeral home, current protocols and guidelines are in place where masks and social distancing are required.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.

The family will gather for a private interment on Sunday, the 6th of September.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family request with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed to MD Anderson Cancer Center via the donation website - http://mdacc.convio.net/goto/kpm (or by simply selecting the link below).