Harriet Payne Witt Moore

Harriet Payne Witt Moore, of Orange, Virginia, died, surrounded by family, on December 23, 2024 at Summit Square Retirement Community in Waynesboro, Virginia. Born on the first day of spring, March 20, 1932, Harriet was the only child of Maude Kelly and Gordon Burgess Witt. Like the spring itself, Harriet brought light, hope and joy into their lives and into the lives of her devoted grandparents, aunts, uncles and all who knew her.

Harriet was preceded in death by her husband, Malcolm Thompson Moore Jr., her son, Malcolm Thompson Moore III and her son in law, Lewis Parr Armstrong. She is survived by her children Mary Moore McLean (Jim), Martha Moore Sheridan (Joe), Samuel Rixey Moore (Brent) and Mollie Moore Ketelhut (David); grandchildren, James Malcolm McLean, William Hamilton Hume McLean (Hannah), Samuel Rixey Sheridan (Mary Margaret Winn), Phillip Beauchamp Sheridan (Marielle), Joseph Peyton Sheridan, Katherine Rixey Moore, Emma Page Moore, Kenneth Weber Armstrong (Ashley), Bradley Parr Armstrong (Megan) and Crispin Ketelhut Montelione (Joe); and thirteen great-grandchildren.

Harriet spent her early years in Altavista and Culpeper, only living outside of her beloved Virginia to attend The Hannah More Academy in Reisterstown, Maryland. Following her graduation from Hannah More, she attended Randolph Macon Woman's College and graduated from the University of Virginia. On one of their first dates, Harriet and Mac Moore talked about how many children they wanted to have. Both said that they wanted to have seven, and they were blessed with five. During the first two decades of their marriage, Harriet's attention was focused on enriching the lives of their children by immersing them in her love of art, history, literature, music, science, community service and the beauty of the natural world.

A chemistry major in college, Harriet employed baking as a way to introduce her children to the different types of leavening agents, explaining that recipes for baked goods required precision, unlike recipes for soups and sauces. "Baking," she would tell them, “is science." She justified the daily use of sterling silver by citing its antimicrobial properties. (Any discussion of the use of sterling silver might also have led to a discussion of Hippocrates.) Every moment was a teachable moment in the Moore household.

Long before there was a name for animal adoption/fostering, lost animals knew that a safe haven could be found with Harriet who, with each new adoption, successfully convinced her reluctant husband that caring for pets taught children to be responsible. Under Harriet's loving tutelage, adopted pets formed a peaceable kingdom with the Moore family pets Julia, Killebrew, Christian Bailey, Maggie, Matilda, Victoria, Puff, Edward, Crossroads and Squeak. Harriet was happiest when she had a child, a dog or a cat in her lap or by her side. (Preferably one or two of each.)

She believed that travel broadened a person's horizons and saw to it that she, Mac and their children saw as much of the world as possible. A student of the world, Harriet possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of world history and often referenced the quote, "history doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes." Harriet's membership in The National Society of the Daughters of the Barons of Runnemede mattered to her because "understanding the significance of the Magna Carta is foundational to a person's understanding of American History."

For over two decades, Harriet was a favorite teacher at Orange Elementary and at Gordon Barbour Elementary where her students were happy and successful learners because Harriet's enthusiasm about her curriculum was infectious. Many of her students said of her, "Mrs. Moore believed in me, and she made me believe in myself."

Harriet was an active member of every community in which she lived, and she encouraged the same in her children. When one of her son's friends commented that he wished that he could be a cub scout, Harriet worked with Doris Turner and Anne Zirkle to form the first integrated cub scout troop in Orange, Virginia.

A woman of deep faith, Harriet was a long-time and faithful member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The 222nd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Virginia joined with the diocesan Young Priest Initiative program and the Vestry and congregation of St. Thomas Episcopal Church to honor Harriet for her "extraordinary example of dedicated Christian leadership, faithful discipleship, and patient servanthood.” At St. Thomas, she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible Schools, served on church Vestries and as Senior Warden. Additionally, she served on the altar guild and as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and Visitor. In the broader church community, she served as a General Ordination Examination reader and on the diocesan Young Priest Initiative program. At the Central Virginia Regional Jail, she created (and managed for over ten years in) a jail ministry and worship program which included Sunday weekly worship for all inmates and an additional Monday night program for female inmates. "If we knew people's stories, we would not be so quick to judge," she would tell you.

Harriet loved entertaining her husband’s Woodberry Forest advisees and assisting Woodberry students with community service projects. She and Mac were both artists and founding members of the Orange Art Association.

The quintessential southern hostess, she delighted in gatherings of all sizes, but Harriet was known for her impromptu invitations to join her for a simple bowl of soup after church. She believed that breaking bread together was transformational in ways that could not be measured.

Harriet’s dining room table was always adorned with flowers or greenery from her garden, and it was where her family gathered for every meal. When the family raconteurs, Mae and Mac Moore, were both at the table, hilarity would ensue and it was not unusual for Sunday dinner conversations to go on for so long that eventually someone would ask, “what are we having for supper?”

When her grandson William was five, he told his mother that he knew what Harriet’s favorite word was. "Her favorite word," he said, "is love." Children see the truth. If you knew Harriet there was a very good chance that she loved you, and you can be absolutely certain that she always gave you the benefit of the doubt. She saw the good in you. Her life was grounded in gratitude.

A memorial service will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Orange, Virginia on April 5th at 3:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Thomas Church, The Orange Art Association, The Boys & Girls Club of Orange, Dogwood Village of Orange County, The Epilepsy Foundation or a charity of your choice.