Mildred Moore

Middletown, NY

Mildred R. Moore died Sunday, June 29, at O.R.M.C. in Middletown, after a very brief illness. She is survived by a son, David S. Moore of West Lafayette, IN and Sarasota, FL; a daughter, Margaret Abt (Peggy) of Middletown; four grandchildren: Melissa Abt (Lisa) of Middletown; Peter K. Abt of Bedford, NY; Matthew Moore of Indiannaplois, IN; and Deborah Kushmaul of Lanesville, IN; eight great-grandchildren: Guillermo and Gabriela Munoz; Jonathan and Rachel Moore; Isabel, Katie and Sophie Abt; Lydia Kushmaul; as well as two neices and one nephew.

Born on May 22, 1913 in Vergennes, VT, Mildred was the second of three children born to David S. Roberts and Mabel Field. She grew up in Lowville, NY, graduating as valedictorian of the Class of 1930 at Lowville Academy. She received her BA summa cum laude in 1934 from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, majoring in Latin and French. That fall she began teaching high school Latin and French in Moors, NY, where she also coached the girls' basketball team. Her future husband, Donald S. Moore, joined the Moors faculty in 1936 and coached the boys' basketball team. The two teams traveled together, with the girls playing the first game and the boys the second game. Mildred and Don married on June 29, 1938. When many years later she lost the diamond from her engagement ring (a rather small stone with the old-fashioned mine cut), Don offered to replace it with a larger stone in a modern cut. "I was a depression bride and I'm proud of it," she responded. The stone was replaced with the replica of the original. Don died in 2000; had he not predeceased her, Mildred's death date would have been their 70th wedding anniversary. After leaving Moors, the family lived briefly in Bath, NY and Egerton, WI, before moving to Middletown, where Don had obtained a teaching position, in 1947. The Board of Education located a house for them, which they purchased sight unseen.

Mildred worked as a substitute teacher in the Middletown School System until her children reached adolescence. At that time, she accepted a full-time position at Memorial Junior High School, teaching Citizenship Education for a few years and then French for the next 15 years. She retired from teaching in 1968.

A fine athlete, Mildred stopped playing high school basketball because referees kept calling fouls on her for being more aggressive than girls were expected to be. (She believed in jumping for rebounds and keeping her elbows out to clear space.) Needless to say, she disliked "girls' rules". She also played softball, enjoyed tennis and bowling, and her love of water sports was part of her love of lakes and the ocean. In recent years she spent much of her time at a family home on Lake St. Catherine, VT. Her ashes will reside there.

Mildred was an avid fan of the New York Giants until their move to San Francisco. She transferred her loyalty to the Mets at their creation in 1964. She knew the players, statistics, and maintained hope for another championship until the day she died. A brilliant woman who in a later era might have been a college professor like both of her children, Mildred enjoyed bridge, scrabble, and the New York Times crossword puzzle. Until she lost her eyesight, she regularly completed the Sunday puzzle in less than an hour. She was a great reader and in recent years, devoured several books on tape each week.

Mildred enjoyed a remarkable quality of life in advanced old age as a disciplined and much-loved matriarch surrounded by her family and friends. She continued regular exercise and mental stimulation to the end and was ill for less than two days before her death.

A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, July 27 at 2 p.m. at the Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home, Inc, 130 Highland Avenue, Middletown, NY.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Southwinds Courtyard Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 2023, Middletown, NY 10940. This restoration will be a lasting memorial to her. www.applebee-mcphillips.com.