James Moore Sr.

James R. Moore Sr., 87, of Clarion passed away Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at the Clarion Wellness and Rehabilitation Center in Clarion.  He had been a resident there for three years following a stroke.

Memorial services for Jim Moore Sr. will be held on Friday, January 2, 2015 at 1:00 PM at First United Methodist Church, 201 3rd Avenue North East in Clarion with Pastor Don Morrison officiating.

Visitation will be held two hours prior to services at the church on Friday beginning at 11:00 AM. 

“Senior” was born on July 18, 1927 in Hampton, Iowa, to George T. and May Alice Johnston Moore.  He was the youngest child and only son.  He and his sisters, Elizabeth, Frances, Alice, and Colleen grew up in Dows, Iowa.  Jim graduated from Dows High School in 1945, and he held various types of jobs, including an orderly at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, working on the railroad, and driving the ambulance and family car when he worked for his best friend, Harlan Halvorson in the family funeral home business in Dows.

Jim and Marjorie Skouge were married January 16, 1949.  They moved from Dows to Clarion and began farming the Schurtz farm in 1951.  Jim continued to help his son JR on the farm and at Clarmond Country Club until 2007.  Marj and Jim moved to Clarion in 1993.

Senior was a member of the First United Methodist Church.  He was active in the Masonic Lodge, Commandry, EL Kahair Shrine, Wright County Shrine Club, and was a founding member of the Wright County Mini-Patrol.  Jim and Marj traveled with the Mini-Patrol to several states, and also traveled to Germany to see their exchange student, Jan Arndt.

Jim is survived by his wife, Marjorie; daughter Michelle Reif of Iowa City; son James Jr. (Barb) Moore of Clarion; son-in-law Dean Underberg of Fort Dodge; nine grandchildren, Andrea (Jarret) Ruddy, Jim (Andrea) Reif, Tom (Abby) Underberg, Maria (Brad) Walker, Alison (Derek) Jones, Laura (Nate) Byers, Andrew (Tracy) Reif, Elizabeth (Nick) McOllough, and Samuel Moore; and nine great-grandchildren, Davis Underberg, Jacob Walker, Emily Walker, Nathan Walker, Allison Ruddy, Blake Ruddy, Lukas Reif, Lara Reif, and Matthew Jones.  He is also survived by two sisters, Frances (Rudy) Naifeh of Burlington, Iowa, and Alice Richardson of Anchorage, Alaska.

Senior was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Elizabeth and Colleen, son-in-law Larry Reif, and his daughter, Alison Underberg.

In lieu of flowers, memorial remembrances may be given in his name to the First United Methodist Church of Clarion, or to Shriners Hospitals for Children.