Reginald Enloe "Reg" Moody Sr.

BRYSON CITY - Reginald "Reg" Enloe Moody, Sr., 89, passed away Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, at Mission Hospital after a period of extended illnesses.
Born in 1935 at CJ Harris Hospital in Jackson County, Reg is the son of the late E.H. Bill and Mary Enloe Moody of Swain County. Being raised in Swain County, he was a 1954 graduate of Swain County High School. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and graduated from Western Carolina University in 1959. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe for two years. In 1961, he married Judy Fisher Moody. After first owning and operating a camera shop in Cherokee. Reg learned the funeral business in Bryson City from his father, E.H. Bill Moody.
In 1964, Reg purchased Moody Funeral Home and later purchased Fairview Memorial Gardens in Sylva. He bought Bill Moody Funeral Home in Bryson City in 1978, along with Swain Memorial Park. Reg's companies provided meaningful and vital services to the rural population as the primary funeral facilities in Jackson and Swain counties for decades. In addition to the funeral homes, he also was the provider of Jackson County Emergency Medical Service for 30 years.
As a result, Reg seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to know him. His heartwarming sense of humor brought many comforting smiles in otherwise difficult times. Reg also dedicated his life to generous service in his community. He served as president of the Bryson City and Sylva Jaycees and was active in the district and North Carolina Jaycee leadership.
He received the Young Man of the Year award from the North Carolina Jaycees and the coveted Ambassador award. He was also named Young Man of the Year in Jackson County. He served for 23 years on the Dillsboro Board of Aldermen, most of that time as Vice Mayor. He was president and a member of the Sylva Rotary Club for over 50 years, during which he received the Paul Harris Fellow award. He was active in the local, regional and statewide Democratic Party.
Over the years, he enjoyed serving on numerous boards and committees, including chairing the Jackson County United Fund drive, the Sylva Recreation Commission, the board of directors of Sylva First Union National Bank and the Harris Hospital Foundation board. He was an active member of the Sylva, Bryson City, and Cherokee Chambers of Commerce, as well as the American Legion and the board of trustees of the Cherokee Historical Association. He was a long-serving member of the C. J. Harris Hospital and WestCare board of trustees, where he also served as chair, receiving the North Carolina Trustee Service Award. He was a lifetime member of the Sylva First United Methodist Church, where he served on and chaired numerous boards and committees.
He served on the Southwestern Community College Foundation Board of Directors for 20 years, where the Reg Moody Family Scholarship Fund was created for nursing students and was a key stakeholder in establishing the New Century Scholars program. He was a member of the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees. He served as Chairman of the WCU Foundation Board, a member of the WCU Alumni Association and Catamount Club board of directors. He gave generously and consistently participated in Western Carolina University activities throughout his lifetime while being a supporting member of the Catamount Club for more than 50 years.
Through his time with EMS, the agency provided emergency medical coverage for countless WCU and other area sporting events. Reg was among the first Patrons of Quality members. He chaired the initial WCU Annual Fund Drive. Notably, Reg sponsored billboards in support of the North Carolina educational bond referendum and received the WCU Distinguished Service Award.
With many hobbies, sports and travels that Reg enjoyed with his family, he bought a small farm in Dillsboro where he raised, showed and bred Appaloosa horses. Reg was president of the WNC Appaloosa Horse Show Club and was instrumental in creating the horse complex at the WNC Agricultural Center and the James B. Hunt Horse Show Complex in Raleigh.
Surviving is his wife, of 63 years, Judy Fisher Moody of the home; sons, Reginald "Reg" Moody Jr. of Sylva and Ed (Trudy) Moody of Flora, Mississippi; daughter, Mary (Jeff) Bumgarner of Whittier; grandchildren, Madison (Cole) Burch, McKae, Mabry and Mary Emelyn Bumgarner, Christine, Anne and Hayden Moody; and niece, Regina Fleenor of Waxhaw.
A graveside service was held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, at Swain Memorial Park in Bryson City. A service followed at 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Sylva First United Methodist Church. The family received friends prior to the service. Officiating the services were Reverends Karen Doucette and Jessica Green.
Long House Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.