Roll Call Tribute

James Roy "Pete" Moore 

May 8, 1942 - September 20, 2024 

No matter what his father said, James Roy Moore was not found in a fox hole in a caliche lake in Hockley County, Texas. Rather, “Pete” was born to Ella Catherine (Murrah) and Burl Austin Moore on May 8, 1942, in Levelland, Texas. He spent the next 82 years building a family, fixing broken things, and tending to his people. Always an early riser, he finished this work at his home in Cheyenne, Oklahoma in the early morning hours of Friday, September 20, 2024. An eternal romantic, Pete left this earth after one last kiss from the love of his life.

Pete grew up in Draw, Texas where he learned to work at a young age by sweeping floors, stocking inventory, and making change in his family’s country store. For this he earned twenty cents an hour, but salesmen stopping in for a meal soon learned that Pete would watch their trucks and guard their supplies for the price of a 6-pack of Coke or a bag of chips. He also developed his ornery sense of humor by helping his father pull off practical jokes on these same visitors.

Pete attended school in O'Donnell, Texas, graduating from high school in 1960. He attended Texas A&M University where he was a member of the Corp of Cadets and studied agricultural education. Unfortunately, his own father grew ill, and Pete left A&M to work and support his family before he was able to complete his degree.

Also in 1960, a good friend introduced him to his “good looking, cute little cousin named Janith.” Despite an exploding hot water heater that caused him to stand her up on only their second date, their love blossomed, and Janith Denise Tucker became his wife on December 22, 1963. Over the more than 60 years of marriage that followed, the pair gave life to three children, raising them to value grace, kindness, and education. Pete and Janith worked side by side to care for their children and their community.

His work began as a yard manager for Paymaster Cotton Gins and included stops as a bookkeeper supporting crop variety research for ACCO; a seed production manager for Jaeger Farms in Leoti, Kansas and Felt, Oklahoma; and managing a family farm in Amarillo, Texas. He spent the last 18 years of his career as the farm manager for Turley Ranch in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. Through all of this, Pete became known as a man who could fix anything, usually doing more than he should have been able to do with less resources than he should have had to work with. He was a proud innovator who loved a challenge.

Pete was active in the church, serving as a Gideon speaker and as a lay leader and trustee in the Cheyenne United Methodist Church. When he was not tending to a crop, he was tending to people. His commitment to service continued through his retirement years where he worked as a handyman and carpenter for his friends in the community. He proudly served on both the airport and hospital boards. There has never been a prouder advocate for the Roger Mills Memorial Hospital.

Pete is reunited in death with his parents Burl and Ella Moore; his older sister, Frances Chancy and brother-in-law Bill Chancy; his younger sister, Betty Jean Rodriguez; and two grandsons, Andrew Cearlock and Greyson Moore; as well as so many friends who must be overjoyed at his joining them.

Stories of Pete will be carried forward in this life by his wife, Janith Moore; three children, Devia Cearlock and husband, Brendon of Amarillo, Texas, Charri Stratton and husband John of Edmond, Oklahoma, and Austin Moore and wife Melissa of Tifton, Georgia; as well as six grandchildren, Parker Cearlock, Spencer Cearlock, Everett Stratton, Tucker Moore, Violet Stratton, and Ella Moore; one older sister, Bess Cummings and husband Bill of Pampa, Texas; and a brother-in-law, Louis Rodriguez. A host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends will also carry his stories with them.

In the spirit of his beloved Texas A&M University, today we softly call the muster for James “Pete” Moore.