On a whim, Matt Moore made the decision to go on a mission trip to Honduras, sparking a passion for service abroad that spanned almost a quarter of a century.
Moore made nearly 40 trips to the country through Honduras Outreach International. He had a real love for the people there, especially the children, said Shannon Dill, a close friend and former pastor at Decatur Presbyterian Church, Moore’s church of 46 years.
“There was an orphanage on site, and of course he loved the children and going out into rural villages and working to help the people with sustainable development and health concerns and whatever it was he could do,” Dill said.
Moore worked on additions to multiple schools, adding rooms, kitchens and libraries; pouring cement floors for family homes; and building latrines in places with no running water.
He never stopped encouraging people to make the trip.
“He organized group after group. He would organize groups of professional construction people — home builders and civil engineers and all kinds of folks to do specialized work there, build infrastructure,” Dill said.
Despite various health issues, Moore continued to travel to Honduras until about five years ago, Dill said. “Even when he couldn’t go he was talking about it to people.”
Matt Moore, 89, of Avondale Estates died of complications of congestive heart failure on Friday. A memorial service is planned for 3 p.m. June 21 at Decatur Presbyterian Church. Cremation Society of Georgia is in charge of final arrangements.
Moore, a tall military man, was a U.S. Marine Corps and Army veteran who went on to graduate from the University of Alabama, his family said.
But to Ann Moore, he was simply her dad.
“I just remember one of his favorite things to do was juggling fine china and catching it behind his back. When we were younger we used to take vacations every now and again. He would put a lampshade on his head and chase us around the house,” she said. “He was a lot of fun.”
Moore was an avid reader with a love of adventure novels who befriended everyone he came across, his daughter said. And he loved animals, including a big, scraggly dog in Honduras named Mildew.
“Pretty much every time from the first time that he went to Honduras, she showed up. He convinced her to sleep with him under the bed,” Ann Moore said. “He said it kept the bugs away. He was silly and he was fun.”
In addition to his daughter Ann, Moore is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mary Louise Moore; daughters MaryAnn Woodworth of Denver and Marilyn Trippe of Lansing, N.C.; and two grandsons.
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