Hughes Springs mourns loss of proprietor Moore

Dewey Malone Moore
was born in a farm house
on the Moore family home
place, north of Mt. Vernon,
in Franklin County, Texas
on Oct. 20, 1929. The oldest
of three sons of Mary
Clifton and John Hoffman
Moore, he lived a full life of
87 years, mostly in east
Texas and departed this life
Monday, Jan. 2, at Good
Shepherd Hospital in
Longview. Dewey was preceded
in death by his parents,
a sister-in-law, Judy
Williams Moore, a grandson,
Jared Malone
Alsobrook and his youngest
brother John H.
“Johnny” Moore, Jr.
Dewey grew up on the
family farm north of
Mount Vernon and
attended the Mount
Vernon public schools
during the World War II
years. After the war, his
father, Hoffman acquired
the local Ford dealership
and moved the family “off
the farm and into town” in
Mount Vernon. Dewey
was a fun loving person,
being well liked and much
admired by his teachers
and teammates. He was a
bright student and a good
athlete. He played football,
baseball and basketball
under the legendary
Texas Sports Hall of Fame
Coach “Catfish” Smith.
His senior year in high
school, 1947-48, both his
football team and basketball
team went undefeated
with his Mount Vernon
Tiger basketball team
winning the Texas Class A
State Championship. At
football, he played center
with his brothers, Dale at
quarterback and Johnny at
half-Back. The Mount
Vernon Tigers won back
to back championships,
and over four years racked
up 43 wins with only 3
season ending losses.
Dewey is mentioned and
his performance is highlighted
in Glen Onley’s
book, Coach “Catfish”
Smith and His Boys. Most
of Dewey’s teammates
were offered scholarships
to play football, but Dewey
wanted to fly airplanes.
After high school graduation,
he applied for pilot
training with the U. S. Air
Force.
Dewey and his wife
Martha were married in
Mount Vernon in 1948 and
Dewey worked for his
father, Hoffman at the
Ford dealership. They
moved to Hughes Springs
in 1954 when Dewey
acquired a majority interest
in the Ford dealership
in Hughes Springs, where
they have been residents
for the past 62 years. Over
the years, he also owned
and operated other Ford
dealerships in Linden,
Grand Saline and Mineola.
For many years he served
as a director of the Ford
Dealers Advertising Fund
of North Texas which led
to their travels to many
countries and exotic places
around the world. He had
a strong work ethic, as an
automobile dealer, real
estate developer, cattleman
and rancher. For many
years he was a renowned
registered Charolais cattle
breeder. And, he loved flying
airplanes, being an
accomplished pilot, along
with a few of his partners,
owning several airplanes.
He was a 32° Mason,
Shriner & Scottish Rite.
He served on the
HSISD School Board and was
a member of the Lions Club. He
also was a stockholder and
served as Chairman of the
Board of Directors of the First
National Bank of Hughes
Springs for many years.
Dewey is survived by his
beloved wife, Martha; three
daughters Angie Moore
Freeman and her husband Jim
of Del Norte, Colorado,
Melinda Moore Kaufman and
her husband Marc of Allen,
Texas, and Amy Moore Nelson
and her husband Rick of
Hughes Springs; a son, Dewey
M. “Rusty” Moore, Jr. and his
wife Jennifer of Dallas.
Grandchildren include, Heather
Moore Russo of Naperville, IL,
Luke Alsobrook of Kansas City,
Leah Kaufman Gomez of Frisco,
TX, Jordan Kaufman of Allen,
TX, Lauren Kaufman Tillett of
Howe, TX, Logan Nelson
Bullard of Okinawa, Japan, and
Peyton Nelson of Hughes
Springs. He is also survived by
10 great-grandchildren and
many beloved nieces, nephews,
cousins and a brother-in-law,
Bill Hill of Mount Vernon and
sisters-in-law, Bobbie Hill
Williams of Rockwall and Jean
Sutton Moore of Daingerfield.
Dewey also leaves behind his
brother, Dale E. Moore of Lake
Whitney, Texas.
A memorial service to honor
and celebrate Dewey’s life was
scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 7, at
1:00 p.m. at The First Baptist
Church in Hughes Springs with
a graveside service to be held at
3:30 p.m. at Fairview Cemetery.
Rev. Larry Neely and Rev. Scott
Darby will officiate. The family
received friends and relatives
Friday evening at Reeder-Davis
Funeral Home in Hughes
Springs.
Pall Bearers are grandsons
and grandsons-in-law; Adam
Russo, Luke Alsobrook, Jordan
Kaufman, Richard Gomez,
Nathan Tillett, Jake Bullard*,
and nephews; Dale E. Moore, Jr.
and John H. Moore, III.
Honorary Pall Bearers are
Charles Brabham, Charles
Lowery, Bud Campbell, Van
Stanley, Mike Jenkins, Ray
Fulks, Joe Johnston and David
Hardin. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made in
Dewey’s memory to: The
Catfish Smith Memorial
Scholarship Fund for Mt.
Vernon Athletes, Mt. Vernon,
Texas; to Allen Special Olympics
Delegation, Allen, Texas; and to
The Wounded Warriors Project.
The family offers its sincere
thanks and gratitude to
Margaret Cato, Eula Royal, Lou
Linwood, Jo Ann Evans, and all
the caregivers at Good Shepherd
Medical Center and Treviso in
Longview who provided Dewey
with loving compassionate care.
*Jake will be unable to attend
as he is serving a tour of duty
with the U. S. Marine Corps in
Okinawa, Japan.