Ben Frank Moore

Ben Frank Moore Ben Frank Moore, 97, a former Tucumcari resident, died Wednesday, June 16, in his home in Port Isabel, Texas. Ben Moore was born November 25, 1907 in Utopia, Texas, the son of Lewis G. Moore and Ollie Stone. He graduated high school in Alpine, Texas. After high school, he moved with his family to New Mexico where his father managed a number of cattle ranches. The family founded a ranch near Vaughn in the early 1930s. In 1934, Moore married Zelma Lorene Hamilton. Moore managed the family ranch until 1946 when the family sold it and Moore moved his family to Tucumcari. He took a job in the municipal light and power plant and established an irrigated farm. During the next 23 years Moore farmed and worked at the power plant, becoming Chief Engineer in the early 1950s. Following his retirement in 1968, Pacific Architects and Engineers, a multi-national construction and management company recruited Moore and assigned him to Saigon, Vietnam to supervise all power plants supporting the U.S. Army Military Assistance Command, Vietnam headquarters In 1970, Moore was named Chief of Utilities for MACV and given responsibility for all utilities supporting U.S. Headquarters in Saigon. Following his return to the United States, Mr. and Mrs. Moore moved to Guadalajara, Mexico before returning to Texas. He is survived by his wife, Lorene; a son, Gerald Moore of New York City; a daughter, Sharron Moore Fitzner of Tucumcari; four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. A memorial service was held on June 18, at the Church of Christ in Port Isabel.