Obituary of Marda Moore

The Passing of Marda Moore Marda Moore passed away on November 21, 2013 after a long struggle with cancer. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Leon; her brothers, Jack and Hugh; her children, Marsha (Bruce), Lorri (Paul), Russell (Rayna), Lorna (Paul), and Sharon (John); 14 grandchildren and one great grandchild. She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Pearl (Mack) Montgomery. Marda was born on May 14, 1933 in Monroe, Oregon into a family that went from logging with horses to heavy lift helicopters in one generation. Some of the best years of her childhood were spent in a Forest Service cabin without electricity or running water near Tiller, Oregon where her father, John Montgomery, was the Ranger. In an era when most Americans were abandoning the rural world for town, they stayed together and worked together all across the mountain west. The Montgomerys and the Moores tried their hand at gold mining in the foothills of the Sierras, ranched in the early fifties in Oregon’s John Day Country and in 1958 arrived in Nakusp, BC in a caravan led by a Kenworth truck with a flatbed trailer and a 20-ton International Harvester TD 24 bulldozer. In the 60s, the extended family returned to the US and settled in Shelton, Washington where Marda became a pillar of the United Methodist Church and lived until the end of her life. Marda went to work at the Evergreen State College bookstore in 1985. She graduated from the college in 1991 and continued to work at Evergreen after her graduation until her retirement in 1999. There she would mix her love of Christianity with the liberalism of Evergreen, where she continued to show Christ’s love in an environment where someone unfamiliar with Marda or Evergreen might think it difficult. Marda’s life was a living testament to the power of ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Marda loved people and passionately embraced the New Testament message of love and redemption. She neither sought nor enjoyed wealth or power but left her mark on the lives of literally hundreds of people around her. People were integral to Marda’s life. She loved Evergreen, especially the students. She loved her United Methodist church community. She loved her friends and family, including a large extended family of Macks, Montgomerys, and Moores. Marda’s life is measured by the tremendous influence she had in the lives of her family, friends, church members and even total strangers—all of whom carry her legacy of love in their own lives. The family wants to thank Shannon and Eileen from Assured Hospice Services, and all the staff at Maple Glen Senior Living Community in Shelton for the care they provided to Marda during her last months. We are grateful to Drs. Osborn, Ryan Halpin and Randy Sorum for guiding Marda and her family through the last two and a half years. Please leave memories of Marda or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.