Loretta Anne Moore

died Monday, March 13, 2017, after an extended illness. Loretta was born May 30, 1929, in Pittsburgh, Penn., to John McNertney and Loretta Guthrie.

She graduated from St. Rosalia's school in Greenfield, Pittsburgh, became a registered nurse, and went on to earn her bachelor's degree from Duquesne University. In 1955, she married Richard A. Moore, Sr., also of Greenfield. Together they raised eight children, starting their family in Pittsburgh before moving to southeastern Michigan in 1961. Loretta continued her nursing career, working at the Veteran's Administration hospital and eventually becoming a nursing instructor at Mercy College in Detroit. In 1980, she graduated from the University of Michigan with a master's degree. She was elected to Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society for nursing, and ended her career as an assistant professor of nursing at Madonna University in Livonia, Mich.

Loretta enjoyed travelling and volunteered throughout her life at her church, serving as a Eucharistic minister and a member of various committees and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. One of her favorite hobbies was genealogy. She spent many hours tracing family connections and corresponding with relatives to put together a family tree and history, which she happily shared with extended family members. She was always glad to raise a Guinness to celebrate the accomplishments of family and friends, or to listen to and encourage them over a cup of tea. She looked forward to springtime, when she could garden again, and to late summer evenings, when she could sit on her back porch and enjoy what she had sown and nurtured.

Because she touched so many lives through her family, her career, and her church, she will be remembered for many things, but most especially for her love of family, her boundless compassion, and her devotion to her Catholic faith.

She is survived and lovingly remembered by her children, Mary Machowicz (Tim) of St. Johns., Mich., Kate von Ritter (Richard) of Marin County, Calif., Francis Moore (Debbie) of Tempe, Ariz., Richard Moore (Brenda) of Newport, Rhode Island, Michael Moore (Debra) of San Diego, Calif., Jean Diem (Steve) of Wixom, Mich., Monica Moore of South Bend, Ind.; her grandchildren, Thomas Machowicz, Anna Machowicz, Ursula von Ritter, Emalene Moore, Jackson Moore, Jaden Araujo, Ashley Ndukwu, Jordan Moore, Caleb Moore, and her great-grandchild, Andrew von Ritter. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Richard A. Moore, in 2008, and her daughter Anne, in 2001.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in memory of Loretta on Thursday, March 23, at 2 p.m., at St. John Church and Student Center, 327 M.A.C. Ave. East Lansing, MI., 48823. Visitation prior to the Mass will begin at 1 p.m. The Rite of Committal will take place the following day, Friday, March 24, at 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery, 18303 Allen Rd., Brownstown Charter Twp., MI. Friends may call at the cemetery chapel between 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Timothy's Church, 2901 Manning Drive, Trenton, Mich., 48183.

The family is being served by Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing. On-line condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.