TOMBSTOME TUESDAY: James Edward Moore (1926 -2009)

Inspiration often comes from unexpected places, in unexpected times, and often when we do not even know that we needed it. There are many people from our county’s past that were not here in its beginning but upon their arrival they bring a force that positively affects many of us. One such person was James E. Moore. 

James Edward Moore was born on October 17, 1926, in Tyler, Texas. His parents were Sterling Moore, age 22, and Mary Alline Moore, age 21. The couple had 4 children, James was the eldest, brother Gary, and twin sisters Arlene and Arvalene. James family was not a wealthy one by any means. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a blacksmith and a welder, and he was born on the cusp of the Great Depression. 

The family got through, keeping a garden, doing odd jobs, and James told stories about working beside his uncle and his father cutting, planting, and pruning the rose fields of a Tyler, the Rose Capital of America. It was hot, exhausting work but James could grow the largest and most fragrant hybrid roses of anyone in south Texas, and it is something he enjoyed doing throughout his life. 

James attended a small school, Dixie Grammar School, when he was growing up in the country of Smith County. When it came to his schooling, he did his best but was not an A student. It is said that every child has a place to shine, and when they find it, it shines bright. James found his in high school. He was a large boy, he was 6’ 3” tall and weighed in around 200 lbs. He had big hands like his father’s, the hands of a blacksmith. His size was intimidating, and his power and speed were all he needed to let him shine. He played Football and Baseball for John Tyler High School and excelled. With the help of his coach and extra help from a teacher he was able to keep his grades up enough and play well enough to earn a football scholarship. 

At one of his football games his senior year in high school, he met a cheerleader from the small town just up the road named Lindale. She noticed him first asking anyone and everyone if they knew who that big old boy on the field was. It wasn’t long before they started dating and did so for several years to come as she graduated and went off to college and instead of returning to Henderson County Jr. College, he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1946. He found out quickly that his girl was not happy with him joining the military, not because she had anything against it, but because of the reason he enlisted. 

You see she always believed in him she never let anything, including himself, stand in the way of him carrying out that goal. She found out that the reason he joined was because he did not want to take speech in college. He could shine like a diamond on the field but because he was not a strong student, writing and giving speeches in front of a room full of classmates was very intimidating to him. He finished his time with Uncle Sam and returned to East Texas State College in Commerce, TX and took that semester of speech. 

On Christmas Day in 1948 James E. Moore married Anita Rhea Banks at her mother's home in Bryan, Texas. Anita had to go back to Texas Women’s College in Denton for a month to finish out the semester before she could transfer to East Texas State with Jim. Together they worked on their degrees with a good deal of help in the way of sports scholarships which ended up with him playing football and baseball for the University of Houston where they both earned bachelor's degrees in education. He earned his master's degree at South Texas State University.

Upon graduation the couple moved to Port Lavaca in 1951. Jim taught school and was a coach, and Anita taught homemaking at Port Lavaca High School until 1953. In1956 the couple moved to Llano where he coached Basketball at Llano High School taking his team to the State Finals and finishing 3rd. He was then given the job of High School Principal there from 1958-1960. In 1960 he once again moved his family to Port Lavaca to stay. Anita took a job teaching 5th grade at Jefferson and later Madison Elementary schools, and Jim taught math at Crockett Jr. High School and took the coaching job. He was transferred to Calhoun High School as assistant principal and then in 1967 he was promoted to high school principal. He presented two decades of Calhoun graduates their diplomas between 1967 through 1987 when he retired. He served as the longest high school principal in the district's history. He never overcame all of his weaknesses or struggles, none of us do. It would surprise most of his staff and students to know how bad his spelling was, but he didn’t let that hold him back, plus he had some wonderful secretaries. Turned out that those speech classes way back in college served him well throughout his career and his life. 

Jim was one of those people who were good at any sport they tried, you know that irritating one that beats you in a sport you have played for years, and he is playing for the first time. In football he lettered every year in college in football and baseball. He was All Conference in football and set a record for the longest punt of 96 yards. He played minor league baseball for the Victoria Rosebuds one year. He entered and rode in long distance bicycle tours and was an avid golfer with two holes in one.

Jim and Anita had three girls, Sheryl born in 1960, Michon in 1963, and Lina in 1966. They were active in the Church of Christ where both taught Sunday school and Bible school classes. Jim served as a Deacon and an Elder in the church. They were both active in all school activities, the community, and Jim being an active member of the VFW and the Noonsday Lions Club. 

Through his years of coaching, teaching, and administration Jim Moore touched the lives of several generations of Calhoun County’s students. He was a man who was highly thought of in this community. He was a man of principals and expectations that his staff and his students lived up to, but he also had a sense of humor and a big heart. This was an admiration that he earned, not through any positions or titles he held, but through the quiet things he did for others. 

James Moore never forgot where he came from, and he never forgot how he felt as a child growing up and the things about himself that intimidated him and threatened to hold him back. He looked at his students through those same eyes. There were things he went out of his way to do to make sure a student that was struggling with studies, or was going through difficulties at home, were able to have what they needed to stay on track and carry out their goals. If it was a meal at lunch that they did not have, or a way to get back and forth to school, then he made sure that they had that need taken care of. If there was a student that was without a coat or proper clothes, he would find a way to help. One of my favorite memories was when there were two students who had it pretty bad at home. They were unable to study and keep up their class work and their grades were suffering. He would go to school earlier in the morning or stay later in the afternoon so that those two students could have a quiet place to do their work. They passed, graduated, and lived good and successful lives for themselves and their families. The best part about the things he did was that he never did anything in a way that would embarrass or cause ridicule to another person. He cared about other people, and he cared about his students.

He was a father that we certainly looked up to and tried our best to emulate, and we were all three proud to be his daughters. On October 29, 2009, James Edward Moore passed away after a brief illness. He is buried at Greenlawn Gardens Cemetery in Calhoun County. Through our grief and our loss, we saw so much that we had missed or were unaware of in what our father's greatest achievements really were. It came to us after his passing in words that were spoken during his service, in quiet conversations from those who wanted to let us know how he touched their lives. It came in the tributes and in the people of this community who came out to let us know that he was an important part of this place we call home. 

After his passing we set up a scholarship for graduates of Calhoun High School who have worked hard to have the chance to further their education. It is set up to give someone who needs that little boost like he did. This way he can continue being an inspiration and help students who do not even know who he is. He would like that.