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John Martin Moore, 73, died Sunday, August 22, 1999, at home after a long illness. The oldest son and second of four children, he was born December 4, 1925 in Wasco, California, to Cephus Allen and Marian Ruth Martin Moore. His dad worked the oil fields of Southern California. As a result, his family moved often, going wherever the work was during the Depression. One of his favorite childhood memories was accompanying his grandfather, Frank Hood Moore, on his patrols as constable of Los Hills, California. Known fondly as"Jack", he dropped out of high school in 1942, a gung-ho 16 year old fascinated with all things aeronautical, to be part of the action of World War II. He served in the U.S. Navy as a radio airman on a B-24 Liberator plane in the Pacific Fleet, earning the Asiatic-Pacific and American area campaign awards, as well as the Good Conduct and Victory medals before being discharged in 1946. Returning to civilian life, he earned his high school diploma from East Bakersfield High School in California and attended the University of Denver on scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1949. He married Verapearl"Vee" Innis on November 26, 1946, raising four daughters with her before she died from cancer in February, 1965. Following the death of his beloved wife, Jack made a new start in Albuquerque as a mathematician and, later, a computer programmer at Sandia National Laboratories. He married Karen Diane Hickson on August 26, 1966 and had two more daughters and a son. He and Karen divorced in 1976. In 1972, his eldest daughter, Marthe Suzanne Vannet and her husband, Dave died in a car accident in Minnesota. Jack retired from Sandia in 1989, devoted most of his retirement caring for his widowed mother. A quiet, shy man by nature, Jack, when he did speak, knew how to make his point succinctly and effectively. He was a Renaissance man, a true Jack of all trades; he was both a geologist, astronomer and science enthusiast, as well as a painter, jewelry and ojo maker, and trumpet player. He loved airplanes, World War II history, motorcycles, and most of all, family. He is survived by his aunt, Babe Elledge of Fresno, CA; sister, Daneal Christy-Aguilar of Bakersfield, CA; and cousin, Barbara Beryl Moore Thompson of Rio Rancho. He is also survived by daughters, Kathlynn Clough and husband, Wayne, Laura Moore, Christy Moore, Seana Moran and husband, Sandy; and son, John Waylen Moore, all of Albuquerque; daughter, Deborah Wilson and husband, Charles of Tucson, AZ; and many nieces, nephews and cousins residing mainly in California. He has four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, Sharon Vannet Biewer, husband, Gary, and children, Dain and Avery of Barnesville, MN, Robert Wilson, wife, Angie and daughter, Morgan of Tucson, Tod Wilson, wife, Lynette, and children, Mara, Sean and Spencer of Leesville, LA, and Justen Tapley Moore of Albuquerque. In addition to wife, Vee and daughter, Marthe. Jack was preceded in death by his father, mother, older sister, Barbara A. Barnes; younger brother, Jerrold D. Moore; and many aunts and uncles. Jack's body was cremated and buried with his first wife in Alamogordo on Saturday, August 28, 1999.
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