Joanne M. Moore

Joanne M. (Maloy) Moore passed away after a long illness on Saturday, December 6, 2008 surrounded by her children, her grandchildren, and her husband.

A resident of Attleboro, Joanne, together with her husband Gene, was a community leader active in the areas of social service, women’s education, politics, and the Catholic Church, all while raising a family of eight children.

Well known to many Attleboro residents as the director of Congressman Barney Frank’s constituent office from 1982 until her retirement in 1992, she was also a police commissioner under former Mayor Judy Robbins, served on the Board of Directors of New Hope, Inc., a delegate to the Massachusetts Democratic Committee and a teacher and tutor in the Attleboro School System.

An avid reader and fervent advocate of higher education, she was on the board of Trustees of the Attleboro City Library, a longtime member and past president of the American Association of University Women, and an active member of the League of Women Voters. An accomplished woman, she is remembered by her family and friends for her warmth, compassion, and ability to make her time and wise counsel available to all who needed her.

Joanne came to Congressman Frank’s office after coordinating his election efforts in eight cities and towns around Attleboro. She had previously worked as a volunteer on several local, state and national political campaigns, including the gubernatorial campaign of Michael Dukakis. With her husband Gene, she started Christian Family Movement groups in Attleboro, and was instrumental in bringing the Cursillo program to the area. Starting in the late sixties, they opened the doors of their home to people in need, including refugees, unmarried pregnant women, and the poor. Partly as a result of their Christian Family Movement activity, Joanne and Gene were appointed members of the United States Catholic Bishops National Family Life Advisory Board in the 1960s.

Upon her retirement from Congressman Frank’s office in January of 1992, Barney Frank honored Joanne by reading the following comments into the Congressional Record (vol.138, no.8): “Joanne is a superb public official –her compassion and intelligence have made a very positive difference in the lives of a lot of people, myself among them. I will miss her services, as well as thousands of people who live in the area she supervised.”

Born Joanne Maloy in Lorain, Ohio, to Frank and Helen Flynn Maloy, she graduated from St. Mary’s College of South Bend, Indiana in 1948. After working as a high school teacher in her native city and Baltimore, Maryland she married Francis Eugene Moore, Jr., whom she first met in college, on June 17, 1951, and eventually moved with him to their home at 752 North Main Street in Attleboro, where they raised their large family.

She is survived by her husband, Francis Eugene Moore, Jr. ; a sister: Molly Maloy Griffin and her husband, Edward Griffin, of Morton Grove Illinois, a brother Richard Maloy and his wife, Bernice Maloy, of Bethesda Maryland; her children: Patricia Moore of Marblehead, MA, Mary C. Moore of Providence, RI, Michael F. Moore of New York, NY, Thomas J. Moore of Evergreen, Colorado, Helen M. Moore of Rockville, Maryland, Francis E. Moore III of Newburyport, MA, Therese J. Moore of Greenwich, CT, and Sean D. Moore of Newburyport, Ma; their spouses Wayne Sheridan of Marblehead, David Potter of Providence, Vicki Wimberly of Colorado, Katherine Moore of Newburyport, MA, William von Oehsen of Washington, DC, Paul Dye of Greenwich, and Jessica Moore of Newburyport. Joanne’s grandchildren include: Rebecca, Pam and Matthew Sheridan, Zachary and Sarah Kahn, Martha and Joseph Nowlan, Sam, Madeleine and Anne Moore, Rachel and Emily Dye, and James Moore.

Family and friends are cordially invited to attend visitation on Thursday, December 11, 2008 from 7:00 – 9:00 PM, in the “Memorial Chapel” of the Dyer- Lake Funeral Home – the national historic Colonel Obed Robinson Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, ¾ mile on left), Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. Children’s room available during visitation.

Those in need of a local ride to transportation are invited to call the funeral home directly at (508) 695-0200 to make an advance reservation for such gratis transportation.

Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend a concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial Celebrating Her Life and Faith on Friday, December 12, 2008, at 10:00 AM at St. John the Evangelist Church, 133 North Main Street - Route 152, Attleboro with the Rev. Richard Roy, Pastor and Rev. John Doyle, co-officiating. There will be no funeral cortege organizing at the funeral home prior to the celebration of Mass.

Graveside services will immediately follow at North Purchase Cemetery, 825 North Main Street – Route 152, Attleboro. Following cemetery services an invitation will be extended to join the family for a continued celebration of Joanne’s life and refreshments at a location to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Joanne C. Moore’s memory may be made to the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Association, 311 Arsenault Street, Watertown, MA 02472.

For additional information or to send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com. Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. (508) 695-0200.