John Mocek III

John “Moe” Mocek III, 72, of Chicago. Beloved husband of 41 years to Pattye Mocek; devoted father of John Robert (Nick Currie) Mocek and Elizabeth (Aaron) Hamner; cherished brother of BettyAnn (Adam Walker) Mocek; adored son of the late John, Jr. (Moe) and Betty Mocek; dear son-in-law of the late Bob and Lynn Bratcher; favorite cousin of Ruth (Jim) Lubawy, Nancy (the late Jim) Baty and Ellen (the late Tom) Michael and all of their children and grandchildren. A celebration of Moe’s life is being planned for The Wheel Bar in Estes Park, CO on Friday, October 30, 2026.

As a teenager, Moe played high school baseball at Carl Schurz High School, Chicago; during his time there, the team won the State of Illinois High School Baseball Championship and the City of Chicago High School Baseball Championship. Moe received a baseball scholarship to the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), lettering all four years in baseball from 1974-1977. After graduation, he became the UTA Athletic Department’s business manager. Moe found himself back on the baseball field as a third base coach from 1983-1996. Moe climbed the administrative ladder at UTA as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Finance and Administration. He retired from UTA in 2018 and became a de facto UTA Athletics historian and archivist and became a frequent presence in the UTA Athletics press box, often joining their radio and ESPN+ broadcasts for baseball games. During this time, Moe was also a member of the faculty -- he taught students the business of the sport of baseball, along with the game’s advanced coaching techniques. Moe’s reach in Arlington baseball wasn’t confined to UTA’s Clay Gould Ballpark, either. From 1998-2010, he was an official scorer for Major League Baseball, scoring 342 total games at The Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers.

Moe was an extremely dedicated father and family man who, with wife Pattye, raised two wonderful children, John Robert and Elizabeth. The couple always played a major role in their children’s activities, exposing them to Indian Guides, orchestra, marching band and many wonderful family vacations. The family always took time to visit his Chicago family, too.

Outside of family life, John and Pattye developed a lifetime of great memories watching the Chicago Bears with their closest friends at The No Frills Grill in Arlington. Moe was a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears fan and had an insurmountable knowledge of Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears and general baseball facts, history and trivia.

Moe and Pattye began vacationing in Estes Park, Colorado 42 years ago and fulfilled their dream of settling there in his final retirement years, amidst the Rocky Mountains where they found so many wonderful friends.

Donations in Moe’s honor can be made to the Estes Park Bobcat Booster Club/Athletic Club, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping and enhancing the lives of athletes enrolled at Estes Park Middle and High School at www.epbacers.com.