06/15/1924 – 10/01/2020
William Leo “Bill” Moore went home to be with his Lord on Thursday, October 1, 2020, in Jackson, MI, due to natural causes. He was 96 years of age.
He was born June 15,1924 to Clyde Leo Moore and Agnes Lenore Ferland in Detroit, MI. He and his 3 siblings were raised in Detroit by his Mother and Step Father Willard H Gage, following the death of Clyde Leo Moore in 1929. His siblings: Mary Alton, Carol Walsh and Clyde Moore preceded him in death. Bill graduated from Lincoln High School, Detroit, MI 1942. He worked at Detroit Race Course while in High School where he developed a passion and expertise in horses and horse racing.
Upon graduation from HS Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp serving 1943-1946 stateside and in the Southwest Pacific. He received the following awards: Bronze Battle Star, 3 Overseas Service Bars, Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon and a Good Conduct Medal. He shared many stories and songs with his grandsons about his service time in the South Pacific.
Following Discharge from the Army Air Corp he returned to the Detroit working as a Milling Machine operator at Garry Tool and Chrysler. He attended classes at Wayne State University and Eastern Michigan University. He moved to Ypsilanti in 1953 where he worked at CIMCO and later at Ford Motor Co as a Hydraulic Repairman in Saline. He retired from Ford Motor Company in 1986.
Bill married his first wife Lillian in 1952, they divorced in 1957. They had one daughter Janis Kay, who preceded her father in death in 2016.
Bill met his wife Betty at the Bomber Restaurant, where she worked as a waitress. They married October 1, 1964 and Bill became “Dad” to Betty’s 5 children aged 3-17 years. He bought a home in Saline for the newly formed family. In Saline Bill was active with: gardening, writing (published in Reader’s Digest, newsletters, story writing, poetry writing), bowling (a bowling for dollars tv contestant), inventing machines to help at work and keeping up with his family. They lived in Saline until the Fall of 1992 when they retired to Melbourne, FL. In Melbourne Bill’s faith and commitment to God grew substantially. He assisted at his and Betty’s church: serving in leadership, praying, visiting and transporting people as needed. In Florida Bill continued to read extensively, write newsletters and garden. Due to health complications Bill and Betty moved to MI in 2012 to be near children. The couple resided at The Pines in Chelsea until 2016 when they moved to Legacy Assisted Living in Jackson, MI. Bill was devoted to Betty and cared for her until her passing February 2017. Bill and Betty were married for 52 years. The family is appreciative of the attentive care provided by the staff at The Legacy. The care given to Bill and Betty was loving, nurturing, high quality and professional.
Bill is survived by his:
Children – Joey Pierce of Tecumseh, MI; Joe “Butch” (Pam) Pierce of Taylor, MI; David (Val) Pierce of Dexter, MI; Barb (Scott) Leslie of Coronado, CA; Brenda “Susie” Reid of MI and MD.
Grandchildren – Brian, Jeff, Jason, Kasey, Kelley, Debbie, Erik, Jakob, Kristofer, Rex.
Great Grandchildren – Joe, Sylvia, Carolyn, Lexi, Logan
Visitation will be/was held Monday, October 5, 2020, 11:00-1:00 at Hosmer-Muehlig Funeral Home, Dexter, MI. A memorial celebration of life will be held/was held at 1:00, a procession to Oak Grove Cemetery will follow/followed the service. If desired donations can be made to Chelsea First Assembly of God or your local food bank.
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