Gloria Jean Moore

Gloria Jean (Lewis) Moore, 86, passed away Sunday, March 16, 2014, at Missoula Health and Rehabilitation with family at her side. She suffered greatly from dementia in her later years and is now at peace.

Gloria was born in Raceland, Ky., on Nov. 9, 1927, the youngest child of the late Sam and Ida (Parker) Lewis. She grew up in the green hills of Kentucky, which she always considered home. Her favorite song, "My Old Kentucky Home," always brought her to tears. The family moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, where she graduated from high school, then she attended Cincinnati Bible Seminary and graduated from Portsmouth General Hospital School of Nursing.

She married Richard F. Moore on Aug. 28, 1948. She retired from nursing to raise her family and, among other activities, was very involved in Scouting, serving as den mother of her son's Boy Scout group and leader of her daughter's Girl Scout troop in Centerville, Ohio, as well as president of their school's PTO.

After her children were grown, Gloria returned to her love of crafts, owning her own ceramics studio, where she also taught china and tole painting. She knitted beautiful afghans and crocheted her signature intricate snowflake ornaments. She also obtained her private pilot's license, flying Cessna 150s. After her husband's death in 1987, Gloria moved to be with her daughter in Madison, Wis., then with Kurt and Jen when they moved to Montana in 1991. She proudly volunteered at St. Patrick Hospital as a "pink lady" as well as at the Missoula Food Bank.

Gloria is survived by her son, Gregory D. (Nellie) Moore in Anchorage, Alaska; daughter, Jennifer A. (Kurt) Krueger in Missoula; grandchildren, David and Elizabeth; great-grandchildren, Dylan and Blair; and her beloved cat and constant companion, Katie, whom she adopted through the Humane Society. Katie stayed firmly and loyally in Gloria's lap to the very end. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Louella; and brother, Audra "Bud."

Big thanks to Missoula Health and Rehab Assisted Living staff, Partners in Home Care Hospice (especially Pastor Dan Dixson) and Home Instead staff for their compassionate care and help.

Per Gloria's wishes, there will be no formal funeral and her remains will be interred in the mountains she loved later in the summer with a grove of trees planted in her honor. Donations can be made to the Humane Society or Missoula Food Bank. Cremation and Burial Society of the Rockies is caring for her family.

"Weep no more, my lady; Oh weep no more today,

"We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home,

"For the old Kentucky home far away."

– Stephen C. Foster, "My Old Kentucky Home
Read Gloria Moore's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.