Dorothy Williams Moore

1921 - 2021

Dorothy Williams Moore
April 14, 1921 - June 29, 2021
Charlotte, North Carolina - Dorothy Lillian Williams Moore was born April 14, 1921, at home in Hamptonville, NC. She was the youngest daughter of Luther Sanford Williams and Esma Miller Williams and the little sister to Clarice and Lola.
Dorothy's family moved to Harmony, NC when she was very young. Among Dorothy's early chores was taking the family cow out to the pasture in the morning and bringing it back home in the evening. She attended Harmony School from kindergarten (a class taught by senior girls who were prospective teachers) through high school, was a Junior Marshal, and graduated in 1938.
She attended Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, where Dorothy received her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics in 1942. While at Catawba, Dorothy was in the Home Economics Club, Phi Epsilon, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Woman's Athletic Association, and the Monogram Club, lettering in soccer and field hockey.
After graduation, Dorothy's first job was teaching Home Economics at West Yadkin High School in Hamptonville. One of her cousins was a student in her Home Economics class. The first year of teaching was challenging because she taught her classes in the school's gym.
Dorothy met Thomas Moore at Harmony High School. They began dating on April 23, 1938, when Thomas took Dorothy home from a school play held at Olin School in Olin, NC. Someone let part of the air out of the tires of his A-Model coupe, but Thomas arrived home without having a flat tire. Dorothy was a senior in high school and Thomas had already graduated and was working at Cannon Mills in Kannapolis, NC.
They continued to date while Dorothy was in college and while Thomas served in the Army Air Corps during World War II in the Pacific Theater. After the war ended, Thomas proposed on October 26, 1945, after the Halloween carnival at West Yadkin School. They married on Thomas' birthday, March 20, 1946, on a Wednesday evening at Harmony Baptist Church. The church moved their Wednesday night prayer meeting so they could get married. They honeymooned for a few days at Myrtle Beach, SC. Making their home in Harmony, their first home was a three-room apartment in the Presbyterian manse.
Thomas and Dorothy had four children: Luther, Louanna, Neil, and Cynthia. Louanna and her mother share the same birthday! Dorothy enjoyed being a mother and a housewife. She was a substitute teacher at Harmony School and later at Briarwood Elementary School in Charlotte. In June of 1962 the Moore family moved to Charlotte, NC when Thomas took a job working at Belk Stores Services.
The Moore family joined Hickory Grove Baptist Church in the late summer of 1962. Dorothy was involved with teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Girls' Auxiliary (GAs), and singing alto in the Adult Choir.
In the early 1970's Dorothy began teaching three- and four-year-olds in the weekday preschool classes at HGBC. She enjoyed teaching the preschoolers until 1979. She retired so she could travel with Thomas on his business trips.
When Thomas retired from Belk, they both enjoyed traveling with the Church's JOY (Just Older Youth) Club and participating in JOY Club activities, including the Senior Adult luncheons.
Thomas passed away from cancer on February 23, 1986. They would have celebrated their 40th anniversary in March, 1986.
Dorothy was a double cancer survivor. She had ovarian cancer at age 85 and early-stage breast cancer at 94. She was one tough lady!
Dorothy loved music! She took piano lessons when she was a girl but could play by ear. She also played the mandolin and the ukulele. Dorothy enjoyed participating in a folk music group called The Ever Ready Band. She would play her mandolin and ukulele with the group. Dorothy sang in the Adult Choir at Harmony Baptist Church and Hickory Grove Baptist Church until she was in her late eighties. She sang in the Senior Adult Choir at church until the COVID pandemic shut it down.
Ice cream and chocolate were favorites of Dorothy. Even if she had a big meal and couldn't eat one more bite, there was always room for dessert, especially chocolate ice cream! Dorothy loved and is loved by her family.
Children: Luther and Sandra Moore, Louanna and David Kiser, Neil Moore, and Cynthia and Don Simpson.
Grandchildren: Brian Kiser (Leigh), Meredith K. Gaddy (Tom), Ashley M. Smith (Derek), Elisabeth M. Uecker (Jeremy), and Anna Katherine Moore
Great grandchildren: Rileigh Kiser, Abigail Smith, Thomas and Miles Gaddy, Annie, Sally, Virginia, and Fritz Uecker. Although she goes by Annie, Dorothy Anne Uecker is named for her great grandmother.
God blessed our mother with longevity, and we are grateful He allowed her to be with us for 100 years.
Funeral services will be 11:00 AM on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at Hickory Grove Baptist Church. The family will receive friends for an hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at 3:00 PM in the Harmony City Cemetery in Harmony, NC. The service will be livestreamed at https://livestream.com/accounts/10705266/funeral.
The family would like to thank Leatha Collins, our mother's caregiver, for her faithful loving care for the past three years as well as the Levine and Dickson Hospice House at Southminster in Charlotte for their special care.
Memorials may be sent to Hickory Grove Baptist Church, 7200 E. W.T. Harris Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28215.
Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC; 28204 (704) 641-7606. Online condolences can be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.