William Norman Moody

1926 - 2018

LAFAYETTE - William N. Moody, 91, died on March 1, at his home in Lafayette. He was a resident of the Lake Mohawk section of Sparta from 1987 until January of this year.
Mr. Moody was born in Englewood, Colo., on Oct. 1, 1926. Shortly afterward, his family moved to a farm in Good Thunder, Minn., where he eventually attended school in a one-room schoolhouse. In 1936, his family moved once again to Alexandria, Va., where the young Bill Moody graduated from high school and entered his freshman year at Catholic University at the age of 15. His youth was spent in pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge and participating in competitive boxing tournaments within the local CYO program. Eventually, he was to win a AAU Middleweight Title championship in Washington, DC.
After serving in the Navy with the rank of ensign during World War II, Mr. Moody received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Catholic University in Washington, DC, in 1951.
Mr. Moody began his career as an electronic design engineer and section chief at the Naval Ordnance Lab in White Oak, Md. While there, his projects included the design and development of a heat-activated homing torpedo and the firing systems for the Alias Betty atomic depth bomb project, the success of which earned him a commendation from the U.S. Department of the Navy. In 1955, Mr. Moody's desire to work in the burgeoning rocket industry led him to Syracuse, N.Y., and a position with General Electric. During this time, his accomplishments included the development of the RADAR Guidance Systems for the Atlas ICBM rocket program. The following year, Mr. Moody took a position with EMR, a subsidiary of Schlumberger, in Sarasota, Fla., designing data transmitting telemetry equipment for the aerospace industry.
During this time, he was instrumental in designing the telemetry for all the manned space programs from Mercury to Apollo, and for most of the major rocket and aircraft programs existing at that time. After 14 years as a designer, engineering manager, marketing director, and plant manager in a variety of Schlumberger locations on the East Coast, Mr. Moody accepted a position as president of Dumont Electronics in Clifton, in 1972, followed by a move to ADT in Parsippany, in 1981. While a vice president with ADT he held a variety of posts encompassing engineering, manufacturing and distribution. Mr. Moody enjoyed a long and illustrious career before retiring at the age of 80 in 2006. He continued as a consultant to the alarm systems industry for several more years after his retirement.
Mr. Moody and his wife, Jeanne, were world travelers, having visited much of Western Europe, Great Britain and Japan. Mr. and Mrs. Moody were presented to Her Royal Highness Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1990 during an event honoring patrons of the Royal Ballet. They attended two additional dinners by royal invitation, one at Hampton Court Palace in 1989 and the other at Kensington Palace in 1993.
In his "spare time" Mr. Moody was an avid sailor and construction enthusiast. He designed and built two post-and-beam homes, one in Lake Mohawk and the other on Nantucket Island. Ever the devoted family man, Bill Moody and his wife celebrated 58 years of marriage before Jeanne passed away in 2006. Together they had raised six children, many times volunteering their time as CYO team coaches and Scout leaders. Bill was a devout Catholic and member of Our Lady of the Lake Church attending 5:30 Mass every Saturday until his passing.
William N. Moody is survived by his devoted children, Kathleen Simmons and William M. Moody, of Sparta, James F. Moody, of Simsbury, Conn., Kim Schober, of Burlington, Vt., Patricia Barlow, of Great Barrington, Mass., and Susan Gambino, of Andover; his beloved grandchildren, Marcy Burke, William R. Simmons, Ryan B. Simmons, Kaitlin Bermel, Karli Pianowski, Grayson Schober, Alanna Schober, Janine Moody, Francis Moody, Brittany Jewel and Isabella Gambino; and great-grandchildren, Drew Burke, Alyssa Burke, Corinne Simmons, Catrina Simmons, and twins Hawkin and Beckett Bermel.
Friends may call from 4 to 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, March 7, at Goble Funeral Home, 22 Main St., Sparta. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., on Thursday, March 8, at Our Lady of the Lake Church, 294 Sparta Ave., Sparta. Interment will follow at Sparta Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in his memory to Catholic Charities USA. www.cmmb.org/Donate.