Pamela Downey Moser

Pamela Moser, age 79, died peacefully surrounded by her close family in Boerne, Texas on December 30, 2023. She was born December 18, 1944, in Fort Worth, TX, the only child of Charles Raymond “Ray” Downey and Eva Keller Downey. Her dad was stationed in the Aleutian Islands when she was born and didn’t get home until Christmas of 1945, seeing her for the first time when she was one year old. In the second grade her family moved to Rio Grande Valley of Texas. She grew up in Mission and graduated from high school in 1962. In 1961 her grandfather W.L. Downey came to Mission to live with her family after his wife died. She and her grandfather cherished that time together since they both absolutely adored each other.

She graduated from Lamar Tech in Beaumont, TX in 1966 with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. During the summer of 1965 she attended the OU Biological Station on Lake Texoma. There she met her husband-to-be, Byron Moser. They married a year later, on June 25, 1966, in Mission, Texas. At that time, she moved to Oklahoma, where Byron was working for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. She loved being an “Okie” but was very proud of her Texas roots and upbringing. She often told people she had “dual citizenship” in both states.

She earned an MS in zoology from OU in 1970 and started teaching biology and chemistry at Noble High School. She “retired” after three years to become a stay-at-home mom for Kristin and Nathan who came along four years later. She often said the best Christmas gift she ever received was when Kristin was born on Christmas Day. The first time Kristin was brought to her, she was in a red Christmas stocking!

She was Kristin’s Girl Scout co-leader and in 1982 she started working for Girl Scouts. She worked for Sooner Council as the director of training and a membership specialist. She was a GSUSA nationally certified “trainer of trainers”. In addition to Norman and Moore each month she traveled to many towns in the council—from Healdton to Stratford to Mustang (and parts in between) and often western Oklahoma to do membership consulting and workshops for leaders. Pam was a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts, remembering the day she was “twisted and turned” in the Harlingen, TX city park. She received both the Thanks Badge and Thanks Badge II from Sooner Council. She loved working for the Girl Scouts and many of the adults she worked with became lifelong friends. She participated in many Girl Scout alumnae trips to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, the UK and central Europe.

She was especially proud to be the mother of an Eagle Scout when Nathan earned his Eagle in 1990. She served as treasurer of his troop for many years.

Her life changed drastically when Byron died in 1991 after a long illness. One of her first challenges was teaching Nathan how to drive! Pam retired from the Girl Scouts in 2008 after 26 years. A member of McFarlin United Methodist Church, she served and participated in many and varied activities—the Advent festival, UMW, a substitute teacher for her Bible Study Sunday school class, she volunteered at the Alzheimer’s Support group luncheon every month, for the Boy Scout troop and Vacation Bible school.

She strived to always be a good wife, a good mother and grandmother, and importantly, a good friend. Loving to spend time with her children and grandchildren, family was extremely important to her. Kristin and Nathan had no first cousins, so Pam always encouraged them to stay connected to hers and Byron’s cousins and to attend family reunions. One of her longest hobbies of over fifty-five years was genealogy. She connected with many distant relatives, which added a fun dimension to her life. She started doing genealogy in the 70’s when she wrote letters and read microfiche because no internet or e-mail existed when she first began.

Pam Married Jack Randorff in 2013.

Pam was preceded in death by her parents and first husband Byron. She is survived by daughter Kristin Fisher and husband Keith of Boerne, TX, son Nathan and wife Karen of Fort Worth, stepson James Randorff and wife Lois of Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Grandchildren, Ellen and Christopher Fisher, Tyler Moser and Annie Kay, Alexandra Hope, and Edward James Randorff.

A celebration of Pam’s life will be held at McFarlin Methodist Church in Norman on Thursday, January, 18, 2023 at 3PM. In lieu of flowers memorials can be sent to the McFarlin UMC Foundation, PO Box 6390, Norman, OK 73070 or The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma, 10425 South 82nd E. Ave., Suite 104, Tulsa, OK 74133. Please designate it for use at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.