| Notes |
- Joseph Moore died at home likely from a massive stroke that took him immediately although his family was never given any confirmation of this. He had been ill for most of the previous year but was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six weeks before his death. The reason for this late diagnosis had a lot to do with his reluctance to deal with doctors over the chronic illness he was suffering. The family was assured that, given the type of cancer, the lack of action made little difference to the prognosis and length of his life. He had had at least one small stroke in the past and his death by this probable cause saved him from the agonies of that are inevitable in the final stages of pancreatic cancer.
He retired from Stelco, Hamilton, Ontario after 34 years as a locomotive mechanic. He was very happy to leave. During World War II he was trained as an airplane engine mechanic where he honed the skills he used all those years later at the steel plant. One of the locations used for training during the war was at the psychiatric hospital in St. Thomas, Ontario. He would joke with his family saying, "You didn't know I spent time in the loony bin, did you?" He rode his 1927 Harley Davidson J30 back and forth to Hamilton on weekends, even in the winter. Throughout the war he served in British Columbia, England, Burma, Egypt and the majority of his time in India. He was happy to leave there, too. Joe would refer to the war as his university education, but it wasn't a valuable learning experience in his judgement. When he returned, he was qualified to take the job at Stelco as a deisel mechanic but before getting that job, he returned for a short time to the Coke Ovens in Hamilton where he had worked before the war.
Joe's brother Jim wrote the following account in 2001. " I started working at the Hamilton Byproduct Coke Ovens, a subsidiary of United Gas Company which distributed the gas produced in the Hamilton area - United Gas was a division of Union Gas Co. of Canada, located in London, ON. Initially, (Mar.19, 1939) I worked in the plant office as a clerk and handled the typing, letters and reports, etc. for the General Superintendant.
"At that time, Joe was attending the High School of Commerce on Sanford Ave. He wasn't too interested in office work and his grades showed it.
"The War started in Sept. 1939 and early the next year (1940) the supply of skilled labour was becoming critical. The General Superintendant at the Coke Ovens decided to institute a system of apprentices in the Mechanical Department (numbering about 30 mechanics) to offset the shortage and, initially he decided to start five apprentices. Joe was 16 and not doing too well in school so I spoke to the General Superintendant on his behalf. He was hired along with Percy Hutchinson, Jack Pearson (who later became brothers-in-law), Bob Naylor and Bruce Bowen (who later became life-long friends). Joe was apprenticed to the Diesel Mechanic and liked the work, although he complained about working out in the weather - his skin was tender and roughened up from exposure to the elements.
" I joined the Air Force in Dec. 1941 and lost track of him for a few years. I returned to my job at the Coke Ovens in Jan. 1947 and Joe also returned to work in the Mechanical Department of the Coke Ovens but I can't recall the exact time. About this time, Joe was living at home with our parents but they soon relocated in New Toronto (now part of the South West section of the City of Toronto) where my father started a new job. When they moved, Joe stayed with us for a while in our first house on Frederick St. near Barton St. (in Hamilton). Shortly after, he moved in with Uncle Lin and Aunt Eva on Cannon St.
"He didn't really like working at the Coke Ovens with all the dirt and exposure to rain, snow, etc. while maintaining buldozers and cranes. Uncle Lin had worked at Proctor & Gamble as a machinist for over thirty years and, when the opportunity arose, he spoke for Joe and got him in the maintenance department but not as a diesel mechanic. (Jay Moore remembers that his father suffered greatly with hayfever and that he described how uncomfortable he was while working amidst the powdered detergents and perfumed soaps at P. & G.)
"Around the time he married Gladys, Joe wanted to move back into diesel maintenance so your grandfather Pearson (John Joseph Kee Pearson, father of Gladys Pearson) spoke for him in the Steel Co. and so he was able to leave a good job at P & G and return to diesel maintenance work where he remained for the rest of his [working] life."
While he was at the Coke Ovens just after the War, he met Jack Pearson. Jack took a liking to Joe and invited him home one day for supper with his family. It was there that he met Jack's younger sister, Gladys, and the rest is history, as they say.
The sons of Joe and Gladys grew up with the story of their romantic beginnings. Joe wanted to marry Gladys very soon but her father wouldn't allow her to marry until she was twenty. They were married on her twentieth bithday in a Friday evening candlight service. As a boy, Jay remembered seeing the large candleholders that were still stored in the church many years later. Gladys recognized them and told him what they were. Their marriage, by any measure, was a great success.
Their first home was in a house at the back of the property purchased by Gladys' brother, Jack, on the Burlington Beach Strip. Before the Skyway Bridge was built, the Burlington Bay shoreline was at the end of their property. Their second home was the cottage built by Joe's father, Lorne, the last property on the East side of Herbert Court at Fruitland Beach. Joe bought it, winterized it and it became home for about three years. When their son Jay was about to attend Kindergarten, this meant crossing a very dangerous highway and when the third child from that neighbourhood was killed in as many years on that highway, Joe and Gladys moved closer to the school to 502 Barton Street. They lived there for about twenty years while the boys grew up. Although the house is gone to make way for many townhouses, a couple of the trees that Joe planted are full grown maples that the builders left standing. Their final home was at 20 Second St. N. in Stoney Creek.
His faith in God and living the Christian life was a very important part of Joe's life. After meeting Gladys, she said that she couldn't be "unequally yoked," that is, married to someone who wasn't a "born again" Christian. Shortly thereafter he "got saved" and began to live his life differently. His commitment to his new faith was very evident to others who noticed a distinct change and the home that he and Gladys made for themselves and their sons was centred around the Christian practices of prayer, Bible reading, much church attending and associating with other Christians for fellowship. He became a deacon in the church, treasurer of the Sunday School for many years and used his car to pick up anyone who ever needed a ride to Sunday School or church if he could. Jay, his first son, remembers watching his father in the kitchen getting his breakfast, alone in the very early morning while it was still dark outside. He kept the lights very low so the boys wouldn't be wakened by the light through the open bedroom doors and he would place his Bible under a small light so he could read some scripture before he went off to work. He was a true convert.
The name Joseph was that of his great-grandfather Joseph Mattice, his great uncle Joseph Mattice and his uncle Joseph Lindley Moore. James Henry Moore suggests that he was likely named after his uncle Joseph Lindley (known as "Lin") because Lin and Lorne (James Lorne) were very close as brothers.
He remembered well his great uncle Joseph Mattice who lived near the family's historical home situated at what was once know as Moore's Corners, Highway 24 and County Road 10, Norfolk County. He spoke fondly of both his uncle and his Aunt Priscilla and the weeks he spent there during summers as a boy. He spoke easily of the the good memories from his childhood but was reticent about some of the more painful experiences. He didn't believe that he had a happy childhood and, on a few occasions, spoke bitterly of his father's harsh, hard-hearted discipline and his older brother's continual harassment. His mother was a warm and gentle woman but she offered little protection to Joe. These conditions, for a shy and introverted boy, created a lack of self-confidence and a lack of trust in the world that stayed with him his whole life. Later in life, what peace he achieved was because his church provided the aceptance he needed, his wife provided the love and affection he longed for and his faith provided the trust he found.
The following is the text of the eulogy written and delivered by Jay Moore at Joseph's funeral, 13 July 1996.
"I am here with you today to celebrate the life and mourn the passing of my father, Joseph Lorne Moore. On behalf of our mother, Gladys Moore and our whole family, I thank all of you for being here to give us your support, to mourn with us and to remember him, each in his or her own way with warmth and affection.
"What is the measure of a man? This man, who we honour today, was a simple man. He didn't measure others by their achievements, by their rank, by their past glories or by the size of their bank accounts, so we will not measure him by these things today. Dad measured others by their compassion, by their commitment, by their fairness and by their truthfulness. He wasn't concerned much with the words in these matters but with actions for actions spoke louder than words to Dad. I am mindful today that this is a legacy he leaves his sons, Bob, Peter and I, and his grandchildren, Aaron, Erica and Noel.
"As most of you know about Dad, he was a man of few words. In fact, he'd be glad he wasn't here today because he'd be very uncomfortable with all this attention - too many words about him! Those of us who knew him well saw that he expressed himself in many ways other than words. His eyes spoke much louder than words. His hands spoke much louder than words. His arms that held my mother and carried me as a baby spoke much louder than words. His actions were the actions of a generous, responsible man, a man of commitment and a man of feeling who was able to understand the feelings of others. His actions spoke much louder than words. My brothers and I are men who know that our actions speak louder than our words and we learned this by our father's example. This is part of his legacy.
"As an adolescent, I didn't understand my father's humility. I wanted my dad to be larger than life, a proud hero. As I have grown, I have come to understand the value of such humility and the importance of humility in our lives. By his actions, I have learned this from my father. This is part of his legacy.
"Responsibility can be defined as the "ability to respond" to circumstances in which we find ourselves. My father was always ready, willing and able to respond to the needs of others. As most of you from the church will know, he was always willing to do more than his share. He responded. His actions spoke louder than his words. This is part of his legacy.
"My father had true respect for women. He listened to them and gave them the credence they deserved. We watched him treat our mother like an equal, loving her unconditionally, open about his need for her and not discounting her in any way but sharing the power in our home. It takes a big man to do that. Of course my mother wouldn't have it any other way but I know he never thought that it should have been any other way. By his actions, he passed this on to his sons. This is part of his legacy.
"A few weeks ago, while I was visiting him in the hospital, I told him a story of how I had come to the aid of a young couple who were travelling. They had lost all their money and were in desperate straits. When I finished the story of what I, his son, had done, I looked over at him and he was weeping. He took my hand and he squeezed it. My father was a man of deep feelings and he empathized with that young man and woman, feeling their pain. I knew, too, that he was pleased with me at that moment but I only did what came naturally - it was what Joe Moore would have done. I learned by his example, by his actions. Because he was a man of deep feeling, all of his sons are men who value their feelings and act upon their feelings. In this way he has made an important contribution to the world for this world needs men of compassion and empathy.
"My father carried Bob, Peter and I and his grandchildren, Aaron, Erica and Noel in his arms many times. The time had come for the six of us to carry his body to its final resting place.
"Daddy, the pain of your passing leaves a big hole in my heart but I have already begun to fill that hole with fond memories of you. You are a part of me and I will always cherish and honour you. Thank you for being my father. Goodbye, Daddy."
- (Medical):Joseph Moore died at home likely from a massive stroke that took him immediately although his family was never given any confirmation of this. He had been ill for most of the previous year but was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six weeks before his death. The reason for this late diagnosis had a lot to do with his reluctance to deal with doctors over the chronic illness he was suffering. The family was assured that, given the type of cancer, the lack of action made little difference to the prognosis and length of his life. He had had at least one small stroke in the past and his death by this probable cause saved him from the agonies of that are inevitable in the final stages of pancreatic cancer.
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1924 - 1996 (72 years)
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