Mary Ann Quinn Moore, 86, passed away November 29, 2014 in Austin, TX. She was born in Houston on November 21, 1928, the second child of Dr. Clarence Francis Quinn (born in Houston, TX) and Kathleen Schenewerk Quinn (born in Anna, TX). She graduated from Texas City High School as salutatorian in 1946 and then entered the Rice Institute. There, Mary Ann pursued a degree in biology, was a member of the Owen Lister Literary Society, and met many lifelong friends including her future husband. She graduated in 1950 and continued training in medical technology at St. Mary’s and Sealy hospitals in Galveston where she also worked as a hematologist. In January 1952, she married Robert Edwin Moore, then a senior at the UT Law School.
After his graduation, they returned to Houston where Bob practiced corporate and securities law, and they raised a family. In 1954, Mary Ann and Bob, together with her parents, bought acreage in Washington County, which included an old farmhouse. The Farm provided decades of renovations, gardening, and weekend socializing with family and friends.
Family was the core of Mary Ann’s life as a daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother. She called her children the joys of her life and readily offered love, support, compassion, and encouragement throughout their joys and challenges.
In the 1960’s, she began volunteer work in church education programs, which later led to positions in the Catholic Diocesan Office of Religious Education. She became a respected educator and liturgist, both at her home parish of St. Francis de Sales and beyond. For her role in implementing the Council of Vatican II doctrines, Mary Ann was granted the Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice papal medal in 1975.
Mary Ann described herself as a compulsive learner who pursued interests in Texas history, art, theology, genealogy, and creative writing. After investigating the history of the Farm property, she wrote a book about the settling family and obtained a state historical marker for the site in 1989. With the Independence (TX) Historical Society, she developed training materials for docents showing local historical structures. Mary Ann also chronicled her life, as well as family stories, to bring the past alive. In later life she avidly pursued leads regarding the genealogy of both Moore and Quinn antecedents.
In 2002, Mary Ann moved to Austin to be nearer to children and grandchildren. She lived independently with her beloved cats until shortly before her death.
Mary Ann is survived by her three children and their families: Maureen Moore Scheevel and Mark R. Scheevel of Austin; Robert Q. Moore of Liberty Hill; and Jeffrey J. Moore and Anja Englert of Chicago, IL; and three granddaughters and their families: Julia Scheevel Price and William R. Price of Houston; Caroline R. Scheevel of Boulder, CO; and Sara X. Moore with her mother Marla J. Moore of Arlington Heights, IL. She is predeceased by her husband Bob, her parents, and her brother Clarence F. Quinn, Jr.
Services will be held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 8200 Roos. Tuesday there will be a visitation at 6pm with a vigil service at 7pm in the Chapel. A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday at 1 pm in the church. Interment will follow at Forest Park Westheimer. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Christopher C. Kraft, Jr., Frank Simpson, Ray F. Thompson, Edwin Jennings, Jr., J.V. Burnham, A. J. Plessala, Jacqueline Crowley, Alice Hagan, Susan Stromatt, Pat Kerwin, and Vera Robinson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Rice University, either to the Friends of Fondren Library or the Robert E. Moore Endowment Fund for French Studies, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005.
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