Steven Gary Moore joined his Heavenly Father in the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 11th, 2024, following a courageous and lengthy battle with illness. His passing was eased with prayers and surrounded by love from his family.
In late 1951, Steve’s parents, Don and Joyce Moore, made the decision to have Joyce stay with her parents in Belton Texas as she was experiencing difficulties with her pregnancy. Belton put her closer to better health care while her parents could help her while Don continued working as a teacher back home. On December 21st, 1951, Don and Joyce welcomed Steve to the world as their pride and joy.
In 1953, the young family packed their bags for Lake Jackson as Don took a new teaching role. Soon tragedy would strike as Don became stricken with polio in 1955. Steve spent the next year traveling back and forth with his mother between her parents’ home in Belton and Don’s hospital rooms and recovery centers. Thankfully, Don recovered and, with some adjustments, was able to return to his daily life and raising his young son with Joyce. Growing up with regular needs to assist his father instilled a passion for caring and helping others that Steve carried through to his final days.
When Steve was fourteen, Don took another teaching job that required a move. This time to El Paso, Texas. It was here that Steve developed a love for the desert landscapes and the freedom of a motorcycle. He spent his free time riding wherever he could off road and enjoying the surrounding mountains.
In 1966, the family moved to Timbercrest, a suburb of Waco, Texas, again for new teaching jobs for Don and Joyce, this time with Don taking the role of a school guidance counselor. It was here that Steve joined the Timberteens, a youth music group at his church and met Betsy Fanning (née. Campbell). With the Timberteens, they toured the state and the country performing Christian music and Steve began to truly put his musical talents on display. Through this group and school band, he learned multiple instruments, including baritone, guitar, and his own voice. He would later go on to learn bass guitar, keyboards, and other instruments.
After graduating La Vega High School in 1970, he went on to Baylor University to study accounting. In 1972, while studying, he and Betsy married. Two years later, Steve graduated from Baylor, moved to Dallas, Texas, and passed all four of the CPA license exams on the first try while working for a “Big 8” accounting firm. Passing all of the exams on the first try was a rare accomplishment at the time.
Dallas did not set well with Steve, so he moved back to Waco with Betsy where they had their first son, Kevin, in 1975. Two years later, he built a new home for his family next door to his parents in Waco on land we called “the Hill”. For the next ten years, he raised his son next to Don and Joyce, regularly celebrating all manner of events and holidays as a family. This included the smallest fourth of July parades you’ve ever seen…five people marching around Don and Joyce’s orchard singing the Star Spangled Banner. (We made our own fun.)
He went on in his career to work with multiple other companies in the Waco area, including Patillo Brown & Hill, CPAs, a Christian bookstore, a manufactured home producer, Baylor University, Hardin Simmons University, Central Freight Lines where he lead the accounting department, and finally with McLennan County.
These years also saw many trips to his beloved Rocky Mountains in Colorado, weekends to Austin to visit with his Aunt Mary, riding dirt bikes, camping trips, and adventures in the woods behind his parent’s home. He took up cut-glass work, making beautiful stained glass artworks.
In 1990, Steve met and married Anne Teal Moore, gaining two new sons, John and James Teal. They would go on to give him five grand-daughters and two grand-sons. A few homes later would find Steve and Anne building a new house down the street from his parents again, separated by only a few hundred yards of wooded pasture. He put his considerable drive and skill for home improvement to work almost immediately, eventually converting a garage into living space…twice! (Yes, two different garages!) In the new space, he created a music room where he and Anne hosted music and prayer groups with members of their church. He took on animal husbandry, raising goats and llamas (and of course, he got spit on by the llamas). He continued his passion for motorcycles, even acquiring a trike when his neuropathy made a two-wheeler impractical. He took up HAM radio operating, became certified and active in a local CERT team, astronomy in the backyard, recreation of Native American art, target shooting, small engine repair, and anything else that struck his fancy.
It was with the county that he reached the culmination of his career as the County Auditor. In this role, he led the county’s finances and became involved in the operations as he oversaw the implementation of one of the most significant software rollouts the county has undertaken. He spoke at conferences across the state and developed procedural manuals that were put into use by almost all county auditors in the state. It was in this office that he experienced a defining moment in his life by putting his volunteer firefighter training to use, performing CPR on a guest in the office and saving the man’s life during a cardiac event.
In his retirement, he continued to care for his family and community. He served on the Lacey Lakeview City Council and volunteered at the local food bank. He maintained his devotion to the Lord, volunteering at his church and regularly studying the Bible and sharing scriptures with Anne.
Steve and Anne eventually found their way back to the city of his birth, Belton, along with Joyce. This placed them closer to John, Jeanne, and his granddaughters who were all able to help with his care later in life. He enjoyed riding around the community on his recumbent bike, visiting with neighbors along the way, and took up collecting pocket knives and die-cast model cars.
As his illness took hold, his activity became more limited, but he still found constant joy in listening to music, visiting with family both near and far, and enjoying tales of adventure. While the family is grateful that he is at peace and no longer suffering, his easy laugh, penchant for practical jokes, dry wit, and compassion will be forever missed but not forgotten.
Steve is survived by his wife of 34 years, Anne Moore, mother Betty Joyce Moore, sons James Teal (Megan Teal), Kevin Moore (Miranda Moore), and John Teal (Jeanne Teal) as well as five granddaughters, two grandsons, and an unreasonable number of grand-cats and grand-dogs.
The family would like to thank Pastor Corkey, Tinisha, Eve, Jeff, Sara, Kyle, Shana, and Micali with Hospice who wrapped Steve with kindness and compassion throughout his journey and particularly in his final months.
Graveside service will be 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at Moore Cemetery in Chalk Bluff. Visitation will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, September 16, 2024 at Connally/Compton Funeral Directors.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association.
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