Robert Lee Moore (1931-2023)

Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Robert Lee Moore, "Bob," passed away on January 12, 2023, in Stillwater.

Bob was born on November 21, 1931, near Camargo, Oklahoma to Jake and Jessie Moore.  He grew up on a farm west of Camargo with his brothers, Wayne, Bill, Dennis, and Martin.  While in high school at Camargo, Bob won the Governor's Trophy for the high 4-H Individual Judge at the Oklahoma State Poultry Show.

Bob attended Oklahoma A&M from 1950-54 where he was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and the Air Force ROTC program.  Bob was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon graduation from college in 1954.  Before reporting for flight school, Bob helped coach a high school softball team in Camargo where Shirley Myers was the all-star catcher.  Bob soon began courting Shirley and went on double dates along with Bill Floyd and Marilyn Day.  While serving in the Air Force, Bob and Shirley married on September 24, 1955, after Bob completed flight school at Laredo, Texas.

While serving in the Air Force in the Bering Sea, the refueling plane operated by Bob as a co-pilot encountered engine trouble causing the crew and Bob to parachute from the plane.  Bob suffered a broken neck when the parachute deployed, landed on a small island and was rescued.

Bob recovered from the injury and was stationed at the Altus Air Force Base in December of 1956 when Marcia was born joining the family.  After completing his four-year enlistment with the Air Force, Bob was honorably discharged and moved to Freedom to start teaching Vocational Agriculture.  At Freedom, Mark, Leisa, and Kay were born and began living with the family in a house built by Bob with assistance from his father and brothers.

In 1966, Bob, Shirley and family moved back to Camargo where Bob became Principal of the Camargo Elementary School.  Shirley taught in the elementary school at Vici while raising their family.  In 1974, Bob and family moved to Canute where Bob took the Superintendent job and Shirley taught third grade. Bob, with help from family, built another house in Canute. In 1979, Bob and Shirley moved to Drummond where Bob was Superintendent for eleven years and Shirley taught in the elementary school.  Also in 1979, Bob and Shirley were honored at half-time of an OSU football game for having four children in college at Oklahoma State University.  Bob received the Northwest Oklahoma District FFA award for outstanding administrator for his support of the Drummond FFA program.

On a family vacation in Colorado in 1968, Bob found a tract of land for sale next to the national forest in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and signed a contract to buy Sulphur Springs.  The next several summers were spent repairing and fixing up a house, recreation hall, and cabins.  The Moore family ran a youth camp and church retreat running a string of horses and leading trail rides into the mountains.  In later years, Bob and Shirley moved their summer home to Red River, New Mexico to the escape the Oklahoma heat.

After retiring in 1990, Bob and his brother Wayne started hobby farming at their land near Camargo.  Bob also returned to serve the Drummond Schools by being a Board of Education Member for four years. Bob was an accomplished woodworker making oak furniture for family members. He also enjoyed collecting coins and attending and watching OSU sporting events.

Bob briefly tried a political career in 1992 when he ran as a Democrat for the State House of Representatives in a heavily Republican district in Kingfisher and Garfield counties.  Bob ran under the slogan "Moore for Less" and barely lost to the incumbent Republican.

Bob and Shirley moved from Drummond to Stillwater in 2019.  In 2022, Bob and Shirley celebrated their 67th Anniversary.

Bob was a life-long Methodist regularly attending Methodist Churches at Camargo, Freedom, Canute, Drummond, and Stillwater.

Bob is survived by his wife, Shirley Moore, son Mark and his wife Dee Ann, and daughter Kay LeGrand and her husband Kevin.  Bob and Shirley's daughters Leisa Moore and Marcia Cooke predeceased him.  Bob is also survived by his son-in-law, Phil Cooke, and his grandchildren, Brooke Franks and her husband Chris, Lauren Sanchez and her husband Chris, Amanda Ritchie and her husband Christopher, Josh Moore and his wife Hillary, Kyle LeGrand and his wife Tera, Whitney Wolf and her husband Hunter, and Reid LeGrand and his wife Kacie.  Bob leaves behind fourteen great-grandchildren.  Bob is also survived by his brothers Dennis and his wife Glenda, and Martin and his wife Mary Frances.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Camargo Fire Department care of the Shaw Funeral Home, P.O. Box 276, Vici, OK 73859.