Elizabeth Caroline Moody

Elizabeth Caroline Moody of Turlock, California passed away peacefully at age 98 on Saturday, December 1, 2018 after an earthly journey that was exciting and joyful—sometimes fearful. She dedicated herself to her faith and good works, giving much of herself to the welfare of others with care and generosity.

Elizabeth Caroline Parcels was born into the home of Sarah and Richard Parcels on June 2, 1920 in Rexton, Michigan, a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There were three brothers to greet her: Lester (12), Clifford (10), and David (7 ½). She was named after her paternal grandmother but her mother said she must also be called Caroline after her maternal grandmother, because she didn’t want her called “Lizzie”. Two years after her birth, she was joined by another brother, Clinton.

She attended first through third grades of school in Rexton. When her parents separated, she and two brothers went with their mother to live in Lower Michigan. She attended Byron Center School the first three months of her fourth grade and they moved to Sparta, Michigan where she was put in the fifth grade. As a child, Elizabeth Caroline loved to see the Great Northern Lights in the sky and dreamed that someday she could go to Alaska. She eventually graduated from Sparta High School the day after she turned seventeen on June 3, 1937, and she was the class Salutatorian. She found employment locally and worked there until she went to Chicago to attend Moody Bible Institute where she attended with a thousand students and rode the street cars and elevated trains to work and to church before graduating in December 1942. Though these were the Depression years, Elizabeth Caroline and her family were all happy and doing their best in school: taking part in sports, drama, forensic groups etc. They were happy days.

In 1943, she moved to Turlock, California to become a secretary and bookkeeper for the Missionary Gospel Fellowship (MGF), a newly organized mission organization that worked with the farm families who had migrated from Oklahoma and Arkansas. While working at MGF for about three years, she met board member and future husband Gilbert Moody. She spent her Wednesdays at the Westley Migrant Camp teaching release time classes. She loved working with children and young people. After school and during the early evening, many of the youngsters stayed to play games—a happy time together. On Sundays, she went with a few others from Turlock to have Sunday school in the town of Westley as well as at the migrant camp. Those were sometimes hard, but mostly very happy days.

She later went to Tacoma, Washington to work as a Church Secretary at Tacoma Bible Church. Due to ill health she returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan to be with her mother and brother. She found employment at Zondervan Publishing House, publishers of Christian books and materials. She attended evening classes at Stenotype Commercial College, and later was employed by Exxon Oil Company. Her brother Clinton was drafted into the Army and serviced until 1945, after Victory in Europe Day. Life was very rich and she enjoyed her work, serving in different capacities in her church and working mostly with young people.

In 1966, she married Gilbert Moody, the love of her life since meeting him in April 1943. They were married in Grand Rapids, but returned to Turlock, California, his home town and where he had an established law practice. Together they served their precious Lord in many ways. They traveled as time permitted, visiting many places in the world. Gilbert loved people and they not only saw the culture—shrines, temples, magnificent churches, shacks, and mansions—but visited Missionary friends to encourage and bless them.

Among the opportunities the Lord brought her way was helping the boys at Faith Home in Turlock, California. They were great kids with some “strikes” against them and for eight years she led the Second Timothy 2:15 class each week. They celebrated birthdays and other special days with parties and banquets. She worked to give these boys a good class each week and there were usually 40-50 people in attendance.

Gilbert became ill in 1988 and passed away in 1991. Life seemed to end, but God in His amazing grace and love had brought different opportunities to enjoy with Him. When Elizabeth Caroline looked back to her early years, she found that His love, mercy, and peace blessed her all the way.

Her family of nieces and nephews and their spouses made up her family. They were so special to Elizabeth Caroline that in many ways they seemed like her own children. She also leaves behind many friends to honor her memory.