Justine Moore Chance

Justine’s birth cry was heard on September 10th 1934 in Perryville (Decatur County, Tennessee). By that time, Perryville was a 100-year-old port landing for pioneers on the west bank of the Tennessee River.

After 88 years of achievement and compassionate service, Justine, without fuss and/or bother, left this life in the pre-dawn hours at her home in Tallahassee, March 1, 2022. Of eight children born to her parents James Madison Moore and Verna Gilbert Moore, she was the last survivor.

Justine’s early education was in a one-room, one-teacher schoolhouse in Sardis Ridge, a hill-country community a mile from Perryville. Subsequently, she attended and graduated from Parsons High School six miles from her Tennessee home. The year following high school, she stayed in Parsons to look after her invalid mother and worked at a textile factory. Then she began post-secondary education at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. She graduated in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. A Master’s Degree in Education from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee would come several years later.

During the summer breaks at Union University, she served as a student-missionary in the American Southwest. While at Union, she met her future husband, Jerry Chance, whom she married in 1957.

As both were committed to Christian service, they moved to Louisiana, where Jerry attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. During that time, she taught school at Bournemouth Elementary in the outskirts of New Orleans. In 1957, they moved to Fordoche, LA where Jerry served as pastor and Justine taught elementary school in Fordoche for three years and in 1960 gave birth to their first child, Diane. Then followed a move to Bogalusa, LA and a change in pastorate for Jerry. Peter, their second child was born in 1964. During these years of civil strife, Justine and Jerry found themselves involved in efforts to achieve a more inclusive community beyond the structured patterns of racial segregation.

In 1965, Justine and Jerry returned to New Orleans where for two years, Justine was a stay-at-home mom, caring for two youngsters. In 1967, they moved to Tallahassee where Justine volunteered at an English language program for immigrants. She soon resumed her teaching career, this time at Nims Middle School, where she remained until her retirement.

Justine and her family have been long-time members of Thomasville Road Baptist church where she taught a women’s Sunday School class for many years. In later years, she found additional enrichment at Tallahassee Fellowship.

Over the years, Justine found great satisfaction in years of in-depth research of her Moore family history and attended many bi-annual family reunions in Tennessee. Corresponding with this, she took and preserved many photos of the family, and organized them into photo albums. She was enviable in her ability to maintain friendships and keep in contact with widely scattered friends and relatives through cards, letters, phone calls and gift sharing. Additionally, she was a regular education volunteer for many years at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

Over the course of her life Justine has been an amazing friend, a successful Mom, a beloved Nana, and an attentive, caring wife. There are many friends and relatives who would share the words of one neighbor, who said, “Mrs. Chance was an angel that God placed in our neighborhood.”

She is preceded in death by her son, Peter J. Chance, three sisters: Mildred Crosby, Lola Wilkinson and Jimmie LaVerne Farris, and four brothers, Walter T. Moore, James Moore, Rex Moore and Kenneth Moore. She is survived by her husband Jerry, daughter, Diane Kroeger, grandchildren Kelly Kroeger, Ryan Kroeger, his wife Jennie, and great grandchildren Anna and Ava Kroeger.

To donate in her memory:

Tallahassee Fellowship (Nims Middle School) 6734 Layton Ct. Tallahassee FL 32317

Kindred Spirits Charitable Trust: kindredspiritstrust.org

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge: stmarksrefuge.org

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CulleysMeadowWood.com for the Chance family.