Damie Marie Moore: Homemaker, World Traveler, Kind, and Devoted

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Beloved, good and faithful servant Damie Marie Moore passed in her sleep in the early morning hours on July 17, 2020, at the age of 90 with Judy Moore and Katrina Holtzclaw by her side.

She was born in Aiken, a small town in the Texas Plains, on October 8, 1929. She was the fifth of eight children born to Lyman and Jewell Gilcrease who were cotton sharecroppers. Marie liked to remind people that the stock market crash of the Great Depression happened the month she was born. She and her siblings picked cotton to help make ends meet, but they were extremely poor. Her mother died when Marie was eight years old, and Lyman eventually had to give up farming and moved the family to Amarillo, Texas. That is where Marie Gilcrease and Edgar Moore met and married when she was 15 and he was 17. In 1948 they and their one year old daughter rode a Greyhound bus to California to settle in Bull Creek where Edgar joined other family members already working in the timber industry. Their three sons were born while they lived in Bull Creek. In 1962 when the townsite was purchased by Save the Redwoods League the family moved to Fruitland Ridge where she still owns a home.

She told the story of how as a young girl she was shown some pictures of redwood groves on an “old-timey View Master”, likely a stereoscope. She remembered thinking they were so magnificent and wishing she could see them. Imagine her delight when she learned that she would spend the rest of her life among the redwoods. She thanked God every day for the privilege of living in this part of the world.

Anyone that knew Marie knew she was a kind, devoted, strong woman of faith and goodness. She became a born-again Christian shortly after moving to Bull Creek and remained steadfast in her faith for the rest of her life, a true prayer warrior always believing the best and never giving up on anyone. When she still could, every Sunday morning she would be found driving around, picking up as many kids as her car would hold and taking them to Sunday school. Many of those children say it is through her influence that they came to know the Lord. She was often a Sunday school teacher, church secretary/treasurer, and volunteer for fundraisers. She enjoyed hosting Bible study at her home. After Edgar died it became her mission to reach out to widows and bring them comfort through God’s Word. Marie freely gave and didn’t store up treasures on earth, but stored up her treasures in Heaven.

After she became a widow in 1988, she became a world traveler for a while. She went to the Holy Land twice, Europe, Australia, the Caribbean, and traveled extensively in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii, keeping in touch with relatives and friends. But, her favorite place to visit, by far, was Hawaii. Her Hawaiian friends told she had the Aloha spirit, which means “mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return”. This is where she learned to swim by snorkeling. While Marie protested that she couldn’t swim, the host’s teenage daughter put a life jacket and snorkel gear on her and led her into the ocean and held her hand.  Marie was overwhelmed by the tropical fish and underwater beauty and forgot that she couldn’t swim as she paddled along.  When she got home she bought annual passes at the Scotia Pool for as long as it existed and swam 2-3 times a week.

Marie left high school in tenth grade, but in 1997 she graduated from Southern Humboldt Adult Education because didn’t want any of her grandchildren to use the fact that she didn’t have her high school diploma as an excuse to become a high school dropout.

Her first grandchild named her “Nan”, and the name stuck, so that almost everyone, not just her grandchildren, called her Nan. A few years ago a scam was going around where someone would call an elderly woman and say, “Hi, Grandma, do you know who this is?” Then say they were in a fix and needed money. When Nan got those calls she knew immediately it was a scam because no one called her “Grandma”.

Even though she left Texas behind and never looked back, her southern roots ran deep. She was very much a lady, in the southern sense, feminine, always appropriately dressed and mannerly, yet tough as nails. While she would do anything for friend or stranger she was serious about her personal safety. After her husband died she carried a concealed weapon and would have used it in a heartbeat. A visit to her home was the epitome of southern hospitality and warmth. There were endless pots of coffee, sweet tea in the summertime, and always room for one more at the table. She was a homemaker in the truest sense of the word. The house was always neat and tidy, and ready for company. She made her house a home to many relatives and friends over the years. It made her so happy when grandchildren and great grandchildren came to visit, and they have fond memories of countless hours spent in Nan’s “toy room”, playing games, reading, and having sleepovers.

While her main focus was always her family and home she did occasionally work outside the home including at the South Fork High School Cafeteria and the Chimney Tree Gift Shop and Cafe. At the Chimney Tree she loved meeting visitors from all over the world and guiding them to go to her favorite places in the redwoods.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Edgar Otis Moore, Jr., her sons Larry Moore (2018) and Gary Moore (2005). She is survived by: daughter and her husband Linda and Ray Hilburn of Redding; Larry’s wife Laura Moore; son and his wife Robert and Judy Moore and Gary’s wife Mary Moore all of Fruitland.

Marie is survived by her grandchildren: Tammy, Cindy (Dean), Shawn, Ian, Sara (Osha), Travis (April), Dustin (Cheyenne), Dan (Kayla), Katrina (Justin), Alisha (Jim), and Allen.

And Great Grandchildren: Staci, Tyler, Tasso, Madison, Alexander, Savannah, Isaiah, Madison Marie, Jeremy, Hannah, Lilia, Avalon, Joshua, Mason, Liam, Roger, and Wyatt.

She outlived all of her siblings, so all that remain are her sister-in-laws Wilma and Marlene Gilcrease. Marie will be missed by the Gilcrease and Moore extended families. Many of her nieces and nephews refer to her as their favorite aunt. She also leaves behind her close friend, Marge Baker, who was so faithful to visit.

The Honorary Pallbearers are: Shawn, Travis, Dustin, Dan and Allen Moore, Jim Putney, Osha Meisel, Justin Holtzclaw, Ian Appelgren.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the owners and staff at First Choice Care Home for the loving kindness extended to Marie and the family.

Due to COVID issues there will be no service at this time.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Hospice of Humboldt at hospiceofhumboldt.org.