Larry Darnell Moore

Lt Col (R) Larry Darnell Moore was born in St Louis, Missouri to Jesse and Rose Moore--the youngest of six children--Edna, Charles, Estelle, Frederick and Joyce. Larry was a beautiful baby with big eyes, huge curls and dimples who his sisters nicknamed “Little Heart.” To Larry’s dismay and embarrassment, this nickname carried into adulthood. When his sister Edna referred to Lt Moore as “Little Heart” in front of his accounting troops, Larry demanded a change. He finally accepted being called “Heart” in private settings which continued until his passing.

Larry grew up faster than most boys his age. When his father passed away on 20 December 1965, he was just thirteen. He became determined to financially help his mother, by working after school as a dishwasher in a nursing home. When he turned 16, he bought an old Falcon car. He refused to let his mother take a bus to and from work and became her primary driver. That Falcon started his lifelong fascination with car engines, electronics, and fixing things. Larry often said…he was too poor to pay someone else to do it. This experience shaped Larry as an adult—a financially responsible, disciplined man who was determined to take care of his family.

A gifted student, Larry excelled in academics and graduated at the top of his high school class. He loved math, science, physics and religion with an insatiable curiosity and analytical focus that was endearing as well as maddening for his mother and siblings. With a loud belly laugh, he would recount stories of utterly frustrating his mild manner mother and sisters. Larry idolized his big brother Charles and decided to play the trumpet like him. With a single-minded focus and as a junior in high school, Larry became “first” chair and was offered a four-year full scholarship upon his graduation from Tennessee State University. Due to family commitments, he did not accept the music scholarship.

During the summer of 1970, Larry met Jeanette--an incoming Freshman--who also played a trumpet. He said the girl with the “red” afro was really cute, but since Jeanette was a freshman and he was a senior, he was not interested in dating her and chased other older high school girls. During Jeanette’s sophomore year, Larry’s best friend Charles drove Jeanette over to his friend’s house who turned out to be Larry. Although Jeanette could not date, they talked on the phone daily. When Jeanette turned 17, she was finally allowed to date and they became a couple who dated for six years until they married on 24 June 1978.

During college, Larry developed a new passion…tennis which replaced his trumpet playing passion. Larry loved retelling stories of humiliating tennis defeats by 60 year-old men while he was in his twenties. He said those losses drove his desire to become a better player. He went on to win military base and city tennis competitions.

During 1976, the Vietnam draft lottery televised the top 10 birthdays for men who would receive their draft notice. Larry’s birthday was the 10th birthday drawn…this was the only lottery he ever won. Larry opted to join the US Air Force and tested high enough to enter as a Cryptology repair man. This job required a TOP Secret clearance and since Larry’s mother was born in Jamaica, it took more than a year for him to receive his clearance which caused him to miss serving in the Vietnam War. After Larry spent 2.5 years active duty, he was accepted in the Boots Strap program that released him from active duty. This program required him to serve three years in the AF Reserve to fulfill his military commitment. Serving in the AF Reserves allowed Larry to return to St Louis to complete college.

While serving in the military and awaiting his security clearance, Larry used that time to earn his private pilot’s license. He loved flying and would take his best friend Charles up almost every weekend. Jeanette’s first flight was in a plane he piloted--she screamed throughout the short flight.

Once again, Larry attended University of Missouri in St Louis and earned a Business/Accounting degree. By this time, Jeanette had also completed two years of college and she earned the same degree taking numerous courses with Larry. Although Jeanette’s mother wasn’t fully on-board with her dating Larry who was now… “a man of the world and ex-military member”…they continued to date and Larry devised ways to see her. When Jeanette “sneaked” out of her house to go to morning roller skating, Larry always allowed her two younger sisters—Shirley and Cindy--to tag along…something Jeanette did not support. Further, Larry would buy Jeanette’s youngest sister—Tracy--a Big Mac to ensure her silence about the skating outings. Jeanette’s eight sisters loved Larry and thought of him more as a “biological” brother. After proposing marriage, Jeanette’s parents grew to love Larry like a son and he was immediately embraced as a family member. Same as his own family, Larry enjoyed Jeanette’s family’s boisterous gatherings and fit right in. Larry always had a great fondness for gossiping and was very comfortable in predominately female environments. He enjoyed telling stories, making jokes and funny faces to lighten the mood even more.

Ten days after getting married, Larry and Jeanette started their military journey by going to USAF Officer Training School. The OT cadets referred to them as “The Honeymoon Couple.” Larry had a very successful military career and achieved the rank of Lt Col and same for Jeanette. He was offered Colonel positions; but, since he and Jeanette were in the Comptroller careerfield—available positions in the same city were limited and would drive significant family separations. Making a very difficult decision to keep the family together, Larry retired from the USAF after serving over 26 years retiring as Commander and Comptroller. He supported many operational missions and numerous base/mission realignments and closures—stateside and in Europe. One of his memorable additional duties took place as a Lt Col when Larry was appointed to serve as an investigating officer. He had to determine if a Comptroller organization had military and civilian members who colluded in an over $2 million embezzlement that was committed by one of their lead accounting technicians. If he found additional personal were culpable, they would be recommended for criminal prosecution and held pecuniary liable for the embezzled dollars. Larry determined only the perpetrator and flawed AF regulations facilitated the crime to happen and continue undetected for two years. His report led to DoD and AF regulation and inspection changes. If you asked Larry about his proudest military moments, he would say it wasn't about the promotions or personal recognitions which facilitated doing what he loved. It was about serving his Country, supporting the operational missions and leading/taking care of people—by doing what is right-- even when it isn’t easy.

Larry was awarded the AF Commendation Medal; AF Meritorious Medal (2); Defense Meritorious Medal; and the National Defense Medal. He won numerous awards such as: AF Systems Command Accounting and Finance Officer of the Year award (twice), various quarterly awards; HQ Standard Systems “Look Sharp” Award; etc. He also obtained a Masters’ Degree in Personnel Counseling and completed numerous USAF and Comptroller professional schools and courses.

After retiring from active duty, Larry worked for the Privatization of Military Family Housing which was a new Congressionally-approved initiative. This new position perfectly integrated Larry’s military financial background and his civilian acumen gained from personal investments and property acquisitions. He interfaced with: Headquarters’ AF; Office of Management and Budget; and numerous USA-wide major civilian construction corporations. He loved being on the ground floor of this new initiative which entailed establishing the financial analyses and validation process to review and award numerous multi-million dollar contracts throughout the US. He retired from this position in 2023.

On 26 December 1981, Larry and Jeanette welcomed their first daughter Candice Nicole. Every baby Larry saw in person on TV or in movies, Larry would say that those babies were not cuter than his “Nikki-Poo.” When Nikki was 6 months old, Larry’s mother Rose noticed she had the same hysterical “belly” laugh as Larry. When Nikki started walking, Jeanette’s mother Catherine noticed how she walked fast and moved just like Larry. All of this made him so proud—he felt Nikki was HIS clone inside and outside! Twenty-eight months later, 10 April 1984, Larry and Jeanette welcomed their second daughter Jennifer Danielle. Larry proudly teased that it took “Jenny-Poo” a full year to grow beautiful. When Jenny turned two, Larry learned NOT to call Jenny “gorgeous” because she cried so hard believing the word meant she was NOT pretty. Larry loved being a Deddy/Dad to his daughters and rejoiced in surprising them daily with peanut butter cups, doughnuts and chocolate bars. He loved teaching them the “pull his finger” trick, and horseplaying with them daily. At five, Jenny proudly told people her Deddy was her favorite because he would, “beat her up, kick her and drag her along the floor!” Larry loved having “Tom Boys” and taught them how to: ride bikes; drive, change a car tire and perform routine car maintenance. Larry ALWAYS made his girls a priority by attending teacher conferences, school events, dance recitals, sport competitions. As adults, he visited them often and called/texted multiple times daily.

Larry loved traveling with his wife and daughters and took them on cruises to various countries/cities in Hawaii, the Mediterranean, the Aegean sea, Caribbean and Cuba. They visited sites within Germany, East Berlin, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece, Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Hawaii, Mexico, Jamaica plus other countries. He cultivated in his daughters a passion for travel which both still have today.

On 7 September 2024, Larry was overjoyed to walk Jennifer down the aisle to marry Jamie Younger whom he proudly embraced as a son. Larry affectionately moved from calling Jennifer, “Jenny-Poo” to “Jenny-Yo.” Larry was VERY proud of the successful, accomplished, strong, outspoken, analytical and moral women his daughters became.

Larry was extremely fit and visited the gym daily to include the day he passed. At almost 73, Larry was viewed as a gym anomaly because he could do at least 50 pull ups with his legs extended. He took great pride in retaining a fit and muscular appearance. Larry was also overjoyed his daughters loved working out with weights and would join him at the gym whenever they were together.

Larry was a loving, happy, quirky, talkative, loud man who was never pretentious or bourgeoisie. He was always whistling and could perfectly and beautifully whistle any music from classical to soul. Jeanette said he was a “living contradiction” because he put sugar on EVERYTHING - steaks, chicken, liver, hamburgers, vegetables - but hated most sweet desserts. He passionately studied all religions (Christianity, Islam, Mormon, Judaism to name a few). Nightly he listened to various religious podcasts; yet, the more he studied religion the more he had doubts and finally confided to Jeanette and his daughters that he was “not a believer”. He loved music from religious songs to raunchy rap and would workout in the gym to both. He enjoyed going to fancy dinners, but would bring kool-aid to put in his water. He liked going to fancy balls and would smuggle a bag of Dorito chips under his tuxedo.

Larry dearly loved his wife and proudly called her his “soul” mate. At their wedding ceremony, he took great pride in making her laugh and flubbing her vows by wiggling his ears. Something he would do throughout their marriage to make her laugh. He was very proud of her successes and bragged about them at every opportunity. They were best friends and thoroughly enjoyed spending time together.

Bottom line, Larry lived a spiritual, loving and kind life, not because he was afraid of being punished in his afterlife, just because he was simply a good man that believed in doing what’s right. Who would do almost anything to help people, most of the times without them asking.

He leaves to cherish his loving memories, wife Jeanette; daughters Candice and Jennifer; son-in-law Jamie; sisters Edna, Estelle and Joyce; brother Frederick; brothers-in-law James, Khatib, Paul and Eliot; sisters-in-law Jeanette (Charles’ wife), Maxine, Rosita, Loretta, Dorsey, Carol, Shirley, Lucenda and Tracy; nieces and nephews; aunts and uncles; cousins; friends, colleagues and neighbors.

A graveside service for Larry will be held Thursday, October 30, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78209. A Memorial Repast will follow on 30 October 2025 at 2pm at The Club at Sonterra 901 Sonterra San Antonio, TX 78258.