Clarence Moore

1931 - 2020

Clarence Moore
Clarence Rodgers Moore, of Edmond, Okla., passed on April 30, 2020, at his home, at the age of 88. He was born on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, 1931, in Pearsall, Texas, the only child of the late Clarence Monroe Moore, a World War I veteran, and Elsie Mae (Rodgers) Moore. He grew up in a household with his grandmother, Laura (Gibson) Rodgers, and blind uncle, Clarence Bazzel Rodgers. His father was a clerk for Seaman's Store and his mother ran the Western Telephone Office and switchboard from their home in Mansfield.
As a child, Rodgers was enamored with flying and music. He held a newspaper route and worked as projectionist at the Dixie Theater in Mansfield, saving for flying lessons, which he began at the age of 15 on a crop duster. His childhood textbooks include his drawings of airplanes penciled in, buzzing around Abraham Lincoln's head. He attended Hartford and Mansfield schools, graduating from Mansfield High School in 1949. Following graduation, Rodgers enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard at Fort Hood, Texas, and served as a corporal in the Korean War theater through 1952. After returning from Korea, he married his sweetheart, Mary Luan (Hearn) Moore of Greenwood, in 1953. She preceded him in death in 2018 after 65 years of marriage.
Rodgers and Luan lived in Tulsa, where he took flying lessons and was an instructor for Ross Aviation and American Airlines. In 1958, they relocated with two daughters to Nashville, Tenn., where he was a flight instructor for American Airlines. In January 1960, Rodgers' lifelong dream came true when he became a copilot for Southern Airways and the family moved to Memphis, Tenn., where it grew with the birth of a son. They remained in Memphis until 1991. Rodgers served as a captain with Southern Airways, Republic Airlines and Northwest Airlines until 1991. He was a career member and recruiter for the Air Line Pilots Association International during a time when hijackings were rampant and pilot and flight safety were greatly lacking; he worked and went on strike for advances in those areas. He was a member and contributor to Parkway Village Baptist Church, Southern Avenue Baptist Church and Ridgeway Baptist Church.
Upon Rodgers' retirement, they moved near their families' homes in Fort Smith, where he became engrossed in genealogy and history. He was the past president and secretary of the South Sebastian County Historical Society. He was instrumental in the restoration of the Greenwood Old Jail Museum, Coal Miner's Memorial and the donation and relocation of the Vineyard Cabin to Greenwood, built by Charles Blaylock in 1848. Rodgers was honored with an appointment to the Arkansas Museum Services Panel in 1998 by Gov. Mike Huckabee. He and his wife enjoyed travelling, especially to Alaska.
Rodgers is remembered for his quick smile, slow storytelling, beautiful tenor voice, fishing, camping, trail riding, photography and perfectionism — which he also expected from others. He loved building scale remote control airplanes, HO train sets and woodworking. In 2012, the Moores relocated to Edmond to be near their eldest daughter, where they continued their interest in family history and their grandchildren, which were scattered all over the world.
Rodgers is survived by two daughters Rebecca Ann Moore of Edmond and Mary Kathryn Platt (Andrew) of Oldwick, N.J.; a son, Clarence Rodgers Moore Jr. (Gina) of Clearwater, Fla; nine grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and two great-grandsons expected the fall of 2020.
Memorial service is planned in his honor on Labor Day weekend, Saturday, Sept. 5 at Martin Funeral home in Mansfield, followed by interment at Coop Prairie Cemetery in Mansfield, near his wife, parents, grandmother and uncle.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to City Rescue Mission, 800 W. California Ave., Oklahoma City OK 73106, or online at www.cityrescue.org; or Oklahoma Humane Society of Oklahoma City, P.O. Box 18471, Oklahoma City, OK 73154 or online at www.okhumane.org; or South Sebastian County Historical Society, P.O. Box 523, Greenwood AR 72936, or online at www.greenwoodmuseumonline.com.