James F. Moir

James F. Moir, retired U.S. Air Force meteorologist, educator, and longtime Brewster resident, died on December 4 of pancreatic cancer at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. He was 86.

Mr. Moir was born in Chicago and spent the first part of his life in Illinois, attending Joliet Junior College and receiving a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His U.S. Army Air Corps (later Air Force) career was launched during World War II in a special training program for meteorologists needed across the globe. He spent the next 21 years training other meteorologists and forecasting weather in Guam, the Philippines, Japan, Puerto Rico, England, and various locales in the United States.

Following his retirement from the military in 1964, Mr. Moir earned a M.Ed. from Framingham State College and embraced a second career, teaching earth sciences at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School from 1966 until the early 1980s.

Later still he carried his commitment to lifelong learning into the halls of higher education, first at Boston College and ultimately to the Earth Sciences and Geography Department of Bridgewater State College, where as adjunct professor he taught courses in Climatology, Meteorology, and Regional Geography until his retirement from this third career at the age of 83. "Jim was a particularly supportive colleague and a wonderfully encouraging teacher, bringing his great depth of world experience to bear on his teaching. "Students knew they had in front of them a man who had traveled the world and who understood its workings," said Dr. Vernon Domingo, fellow department member at Bridgewater.

Over the years Mr. Moir became teacher and mentor to a new generation of earth scientists and meteorologists. His students have advanced to careers in fields of science at notable institutions, including the USAF Space Command in Cheyenne, Wyoming. "He was an awesome mentor for me and a large part of the reason I am presently where I am at Colorado State University," said a former student and current hurricane forecaster, Dr. Phil Klotzbach of CSU's Department of Atmospheric Science.

With his beloved wife of 35 years, Maureen, Mr. Moir was a lifelong and passionate traveler to sites of geological, historical, and cultural interest around the world. They were also avid theatre goers, relishing their annual attendance at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, many musical theatre performances in London's West End, and outstanding seasonal productions at Brewster's Cape Rep Theatre.

Mr. Moir's delight in the environment was evident in his frequent walks around the cranberry bog near his Brewster home and on the many beaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Orienteering gave him hours of outdoor pleasure, and his contribution to the mapping of Nickerson State Park is acknowledged on the map posted at the park's entrance. Mr. and Mrs. Moir also loved the Big Island of Hawaii and in recent years spent part of each winter at Volcanoes National Park.

Mr. Moir was a member of the American Meteorological Society, the National Science Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the Military Officers Association of America.

In addition to his wife Maureen, Mr. Moir also leaves his daughters, Melody of New Hampshire and Barbara of Hawaii; sons, Robert of Pennsylvania and John of Florida; granddaughters, Aria and Airika; grandsons, Colin and Garrett; and great-grandchildren, Richard and Lily. His loving family also includes niece Maureen and nephew Peter Neilly of Charlton Depot and their children Meaghan, Devin, and Aidan; niece Jane Brouillard and her children Luke and Tara; nephews Charles Hickey and Bernard Hickey; and Maj. Rocco Blasi II, USAF.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 13 at Hallett Funeral Home, 273 Station Avenue, South Yarmouth. Interment with full military honors will take place on Monday, December 15 at the National Cemetery in Bourne. Visiting hours are from 5-8 p.m Friday, December 12 at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Moir's memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 714 Route 6A #A, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675.