McClain Moredock

1939 - 2020

Moredock, McClain
Jun 20, 1939 - Aug 1, 2020
McClain Jeffrey Moredock was born in West Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, on June 20, 1939, the son of Audrey McClain and Kenneth Moredock.
Jeff grew up in Dry Tavern, PA, and was graduated from Jefferson Morgan High School in 1957, where he played basketball and ran track. During his life he turned the class motto, "When in doubt, don't," on its head, opting for "When in doubt, full steam ahead!" Jeff received his BA in Philosophy in 1962 from Westminster College, PA, where he was student body president his senior year. In 1964, he met and married his wife, Etta Mueller. He received his MA in counseling and theology from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1966. While there, he was awarded a Danforth Foundation Fellowship, beginning his career in education as an assistant chaplain at Antioch College, Ohio.
For the next fifteen years, Jeff served as school chaplain, teacher and coach at independent schools in New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In 1980 he began his twenty-year career as head of school, serving North Country School in New York, The Foxcroft School in Virginia, The Chadwick School in California, and The Barrie School in Maryland. His professional career culminated as the Chief Operating Officer of the National Association of Independent Schools in Washington DC until his retirement in 2004.
Jeff's volunteer work included Board service for Teach for America, Washington DC charter schools, and the Community Foundation in Venice, Florida. He served as president of The Adirondack Arts Association in New York, for four years.
Jeff's summers at The Crater Club on the shore of Lake Champlain in Essex, NY, were a much anticipated joy for 39 years. There he established lifelong friendships and loved sailing, playing tennis and golf, biking, and kayaking. He particularly enjoyed delivering his homemade scones to friends from his yellow BMW convertible.
In 2004 Jeff and Etta moved to Heron Creek in North Port, Florida, although he had vowed he would never live in Florida after retirement. There he and Etta shared rich experiences with a wonderful community of friends. Jeff became known for the personalized poems he wrote for friends' birthdays and tennis and golf events. Jeff was an avid writer and artist, combining sharp wit and creativity that resulted in poetry, music, a novella, and two collections of golf stories.
In addition to his family, Jeff engendered enduring friendships with former students and colleagues going back to the 1960s from all the communities he served and lived in. Jeff's favorite quote was from Unamuno: "I believe in God as I believe in my friends." Given the constellation of friends who loved him, Jeff passed with a firm belief in God. He attended St. John's Episcopal Church in Essex, NY, where his ashes will be interred. His final wishes were that any gifts in his honor be made to a local food bank or Doctors Without Borders.
Jeff is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Etta Mueller Moredock, his daughter Meredyth Lynn Cole and husband John Cole of Atlanta, GA, son Cameron Kenneth Andrew Moredock and wife Cheryl Ting, of Oakland, CA, cherished grandchildren John Clayton, Logan McClain, Maia Xiao-En and Dylan Xiao-Kang, and sister Claudia Hare.
Celebration of his life will be held at a later date.