Moore, William Terrence (“Terry”) Moore, (April 11, 1939—September 6, 2022)
Terry Moore from Ames, Iowa was an active member of our class. He served as an officer of Cowles Hall and as a member of the College Choir and the Scarleteers vocal group. He lettered in football as the starting center on the team and his senior year was All Conference (2d team) at that position. He obtained his Grinnell B.A. in physical education in June 1961.
As Terry wrote in our 50th reunion booklet, “After our [college] graduation, I loved Grinnell so much that I stayed on for two more years coaching freshmen football, varsity and freshmen wrestling and assisting in track while commuting to Iowa City to get my M.A. at University of Iowa.”
“Then in 1963 I answered the call to become one of the early Peace Corps volunteers in Indonesia teaching and coaching.” [The next year Chip Salmon, my Grinnell friend and classmate who was a Peace Corp volunteer in the Philippines, met me in Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest city. We then traveled together to Bali, where we stayed at the only hotel on the island and took donkey-powered carts on excursions. The two of us have fond memories of our time on the beaches of Bali and listening to the nearly hypnotic music at a village festival.]
“On my return [to the U.S.], Grinnell had still not hired a wrestling coach so I spent two more years there, lived in Norris Hall as a Head Resident and coached Grinnell’s only Conference Championship in [that sport] in 1967.”
In “1967 I moved on to Webster Groves, MO (St. Louis) and spent the next 30 years in the 8th grade at Hixon Middle School teaching math and helping kids grow in positive ways. There I helped bring the first computers and technology to our building.”
“It was through two of my students that I met their mother, [Shirley Peterson], who became my wonderful wife [in 1978]. [At the time of our class reunion in 2011, we had her two sons], 10 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.”
“When I came to St. Louis [in 1967], I became an investor in Camp Mishawaka in northern Minnesota. I spent 25 years there as a counselor and had various jobs from running the waterfront to training counselors to sharing the Director’s job.”
“[in 2006 Shirley and I moved to] a wonderful retirement community, Laclede Groves [in Webster Groves, MO]. Here we live in a cottage home next to the recreation center where I swim almost every morning and continue helping other senior residents with their problems with phones, VCR’s, computers and the intruding technology. Not only is this a great place to live but we enjoy the security and support of staff as we age. My memory is fading but my wife reminds me that ‘You’ve had a good life.’ As I look back at Grinnell College, Hixon Middle School, Camp Mishawaka and now Laclede Groves, it couldn’t have been much better.”
[As her 2017 obituary stated, Shirley “spent the last 39 years of her life enjoying a very loving, caring, giving relationship with Terry by her side, always.”]
Sometime after 2011, Terry was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, and his public obituaries asked for any donations in his memory be sent to the Alzheimer Association. As his public obituary stated, “Beloved by so many, Terry was truly a wonderful man, husband, father, grandfather, uncle, teacher, coach, counselor, mentor and friend.”
Terry is survived by stepsons Rolf (Karen) Peterson and Roger (Shari) Peterson, ten grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, three nieces, two nephews and nine great-nieces and great-nephews.
Duane W. Krohnke
