Mrs. Mildred Ann Moore, 87
Mildred “Ann” Moore died in Gainesville, Georgia, on April 23 after a long illness, surrounded by those who cared for her. She was 87 years old.
Ann was born on her family’s farm in Freeport, Ohio, where she grew up with a favorite horse named Barney and later fell for a local boy named Charles who worked on her father’s farm. They married in 1953 after he returned from a tour of duty in Korea.
Ann completed her education in 1959 with a degree from Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio. Later she and Charles moved to North Olmsted, Ohio where she taught history and geography at Westlake Junior High School until her son John was born in 1964. He was her beloved only child from the moment of his birth until the moment of her death. Later he too would have an only child named Patrick with his wife Jennifer, giving Ann a grandson to love as well.
Both son and grandson caught Ann’s passion for history and travel. Under her influence, John became a history buff and Patrick became a history major at Wake Forest University. Ann insisted that both of them know everything there was to know about their Scottish heritage, dating back to the Cummins clan (Clan Comyn) that played a major role in the 13th-14th century Wars of Scottish Independence.
Meanwhile, Ann and Charles logged thousands of miles in their Airstream, visiting virtually all of the National Parks and many state parks as well. Superior National Forest in Minnesota, which contains the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, was one of Ann’s favorites. When at home, she doted on her Golden Retrievers (there were two named Rusty) and cats (Toby was the best). She collected books and stamps from all over the world. She baked. She worked as a volunteer storekeeper for the One World Shop, a nonprofit fair-trade co-op in Rocky River, Ohio, which helps artisans from Appalachia to Africa sell their goods.
Not coincidentally, the One World Shop was started in 1979 by a group of Presbyterian women. While Ann was not among them, she was a lifelong Presbyterian who did all the things good Scottish Presbyterians do: she sang in the choir, she made Christmas fudge, she supported charities and non-profits with shared values of generosity and compassion. She and Charles also traveled extensively with various church groups, leaving the Airstream behind to visit Australia, China, and much of Europe.
When Ann learned that Jennifer and John were expecting a child in 1996, she and Charles moved to Gainesville, Georgia, to be near the new family. They built their dream home on Lake Lanier and—after Patrick was born—turned their place into the magnetic site of family cookouts, sunset cruises, inner tube floats, and gifts of toys and books, along with all other means of spoiling the only grandson.
Ann underwent surgery for a cerebral aneurysm in 2002 and life became more challenging after that, though she had laid down such a solid foundation of love with her family and friends that there was no challenge in loving her back. She received guests graciously. She was easily the best-dressed octogenarian at Manor Lake Assisted Living in Gainesville, where she moved in January 2020. Charles was at her side every day until the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him. When he and the rest of the family could only visit through a telephone or a window, Ann received top-notch care from the staff of the Manor Lake Memory Unit and Homestead Hospice, to whom her family is very grateful. When she died on April 23, she left the tattoo of her life on the hearts of her family and friends, who guard her memory and give everlasting thanks for her loving example.
Ann is preceded in death by Pearl Leota Cummins, her mother, and Dean Edward Cummins, her father. She is survived by Charles Nelson Moore, her husband of 67 years; John Cummins Moore and Jennifer Brown Moore, her son and daughter-in-law; and Patrick Conor Moore, her grandson. At a date yet to be determined, Ann’s ashes will be interred at First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville and the Cummins family farm in Ohio. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America at https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate.