John Moore

John Justin Moore, beloved husband, father, and son, of Crystal Lake, passed away suddenly Monday, April 28, 2014 at the age of 43.

Born October 21, 1970 in Plattsburgh, New York to Jerome and Susan Moore (nee Flannery), John attended Saratoga Springs High School and later Plattsburgh State University. He and Margaret “Maggie” (nee Nichols) joined in marriage on July 5, 1997 in Poughkeepsie, New York. John was a proud member of the U.S. Army Reserves. He was a Senior Technical Director at AT&T, a self-employed businessman of the Algonquin Family Laundromat, and also involved with other business ventures. John belonged to numerous organizations such as the Nunda Masonic Lodge #169 of Crystal Lake, the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce, Algonquin Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion and also a member at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. He graciously volunteered his time to the Northern Illinois Food Bank and with the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity. He will be sadly missed by his many families.

John is survived by his loving wife, Maggie; children, Collin Jerome Moore and Lena Donnarumma; parents, Jerome and Susan; sister, Amy S. (Brendan) Kelly; brother, William B. (Christina) Moore; uncles, Kevin, Christopher, Patrick, and Dennis Flannery; aunt, Linda Flannery; cousins, Bridget and Chelsey Flannery; nephews, Justin and Joey Moore, Alex Kelly; and nieces, Cetera Moore, and Mackenzie Kelly.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, John and Ann Flannery; paternal grandparents, Justin and Catherine Moore; and uncle, John Flannery.

The visitation will be held Monday, May 5, 2014 from 3-8p.m. with a Masonic service beginning at 8p.m. at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 419 E Terra Cotta Ave (Rt 176) Crystal Lake. There will be a brief visitation the following day, Tuesday, May 6 from 10 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11 a.m. at the funeral home with Rev. Brian Grady officiating. Burial will follow at Crystal Lake Memorial Park.

Flowers or memorial donations in John’s name may be made to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, 273 Dearborn Ct, Geneva, IL 60134 or to the National Psoriasis Foundation, www.psoriasis.org/donate.


Below is the eulogy John's wife, Maggie, wrote for his funeral service:

We come together today to remember an extraordinary man, a man I was privileged to have as the love of my life, my soul mate, the father of my child and father to Lena. John was many things to the people in this room-parent, sibling, cousin, son, colleague, masonic brother, fellow Catholic, scout parent, friend. The senseless way he passed from this world has rocked us all and we are coming together here to mourn his passing, to collectively make sense of a loss which seems so senseless.
We are gathered here to mourn, as we should. While his loss has broken all of our hearts in this room, it does not define who John was in this world, or who we are together. I want to talk to you not about how John left this world, but how he lived in it.
John had many gifts but the one I think that served to define his life was honor. Socrates described it best when he said, “The greatest way to live with honor is to be the man that you pretend to be.”
John moved through this world quietly gathering friends (we call them families we choose) and slowly, mindfully, honorably helping you see greatness in yourself. He will always be known for his infectious laugh, his easygoing manner, his smile and his ability to connect with others. Equally, he was known for a core of unflinching honor. He never spoke about it, but demonstrated it daily through his actions. He will be remembered in the way that Albert Pike describes it: “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others in this world remains and is immortal”
Being in John’s circle was not always easy…because he sought to bring out the best in those he touched and that meant caring enough to speak the truth. His friends, colleagues, Mason brothers and business associates knew that the advice they got from him would be rock-solid, backed by integrity, and grounded in compassion even if the message was tough.
He used to say to me, there is a huge difference between criticism and feedback. “Criticism is a the way weak people in this world mask their selfish cruelty in the guise of ‘helping’, feedback is the way a leader makes an ordinary person see greatness in themselves. However a true leader will multiply the talents he is given in those around him”
John was a multiplier, in many ways. He quietly, without fanfare, transformed others. We do not always choose the events and situations that shape us in life, but we can and MUST choose how to respond to them and shape the world in turn. John lived his life ensuring that those that touched it were not just human beings, but humans becoming.
I have been privileged to hear stories of his honor and transformation over and over during these dark days of overwhelming grief. Let me share some back to you to help you understand:
• Several of John’s team members have told me he was the best manager they had at AT&T-period, some of whom have 30 years with the company. Not because he was a high flyer, but because he slowly, purposefully built his team by bringing out their talents-and they can’t imagine a world without him in it. He worked his way up through the organization, not by leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, but a foundation of success stories. He was approached internally by many to mentor them and other leaders to join their organizations. Over and over I heard that he gave thoughtful, tough advice paired with incredible faith in his team.
o John’s team members have told me, over and over, how he brought out the best in them by giving them the tough feedback needed to improve, but how they never, ever doubted that he cared for them as people, too.
o There is a friend who was contemplating a post-retirement career change in public speaking. By his own admission, he wasn’t very good at the beginning. He told me yesterday that he attributes every success in that venture for the past seven years to John. How many of us would see that greatness and nurture it? I know that we are eagerly awaiting here in the Moore household to hear the rest of his story of success.

To each of you in our AT&T family and to John’s team, remember this: John was very selective about who he invested his time in. Remember, he chose YOU because of the greatness he recognized. He started the process to unlock it and now the keys have been passed to you to write the ending to your story.

• His brothers in the mason lodge appreciated the way he built them up, but expected much. I’ve witnessed many rueful chuckles as you tell me stories in which his advice was sought-and given-and was very tough to implement. He had conversations about mending fences, facing fears, and stepping out in faith.

Many of you have shared the fact that that you looked forward to the day he assumed leadership of the Lodge this next year as the Worshipful Master, because of the fact that he was prepared to create a climate for greatness for each of you. Greatness can only exist when people have the courage to step out in faith and risk failure, knowing that the failure is a celebration signpost on the path to success. Thomas Edison didn’t care that he had “failed” in making a light bulb, he celebrated the fact that he had found thousands of ways not to do it. John approached your potential the same way….if one approach didn’t work, he didn’t blame the failure, or you, he just tried another. Great leaders create that climate and that is what John wanted for all of you.

To you I say this: his legacy lives on-in each of you. Be the man he wanted and find your faith in each other. Greatness and failure will always be two sides of the same coin and to embrace one, we must embrace the other.

• He believed, deeply and passionately, in Scouting. I remember a moment on one of our Cub Scout campouts with Pack 168, John quietly observed a scout standing off to the side while the other scouts played Frisbee. He asked that Cub Scout, “Why aren’t you playing with the others?” The Scout replied, “I’m afraid they’ll laugh at me-I don’t have a dad to teach me to throw a Frisbee and mine wobbles.” John, replied, “That’s great-you’ve already figured out many ways not to throw it. Let me show you one way you can.” Quietly, without fanfare, John took the scout off to the side and taught him how to throw that Frisbee.

When they were done, just before the scout ran off to join his buddies, he said quietly, “Do you think I’m big enough to go on that hike, too? I’m short and I can’t see over the hill the way the other scouts do.” My husband crouched down so he was looking the scout in the eye and said, “You don’t have to…every leader, every adult partner and Akela here will help you get to the top of this and every hill you climb in Scouting-just ask.”
To each Cub and Boy Scout here: Scouting is amazing-where else can you sleep on a submarine, camp in a cave, go high adventure hiking, learn robotics? Be brave enough to risk failing because that is the path to discovering what you really can do. We will not do it for you, but we will help you discover that you can.
• To Collin and Lena, your father loved you so very much and you are privileged to have not only your memories of him, but to have had such a fine human being as your father. Know that his family will help you keep Dad alive in your hearts now and in the years ahead.

You are not alone, but as Collin’s principal reminded me, our lives will form a different mosaic, one in which friends and family will step in and wrap us in their love and share the very best of your Dad with you. God may have called him home, but he left pieces of him here in friends and family that will be shared with us in the years ahead, when the time is right and when we most need them. Those “God Breezes” will come into our lives when we are ready to be taught, to remember, to honor, you can know and trust that the right teacher will appear.

• We draw great comfort from our faith and the knowledge that our family at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is here to support us in our time of need. Our Roman Catholic faith provides us the comfort that God has called John home.

Faith to John, was a verb, an action. It formed the foundation of who he was.

When Collin was very young, they were sitting by Crystal Lake skipping stones.

John skipped one stone and they watched the ripples spread, saying to Collin, “That’s what happens when you bring good into the world-it spreads like a wave”.

Then he skipped two stones opposite so the ripples intersected and said to Collin, “See how the waves from those stones cancel each other out-that’s what happens when we stand by and let the bad drown out the good . We can’t do that”

Then he skipped two stones, one behind the other. Collin laughed, clapped his hands and said, “Daddy, that wave is taller than the two put together.”

My husband replied, “Of course, son, God created a world in which when we team up, we will always be stronger together than we are apart.”
To our Parish Home and to John’s friends of many faiths and great traditions, I say this: Even in our time of need, know that we will ALWAYS be stronger together than we are apart, always be stronger than the things we fear.
Courage, to John, was not the absence of fear. It was his absolute belief that fear and faith cannot exist in the same place. John’s death is not an end because his legacy will live on in sprit in lives he touched. This world is a better place for passage through it.
What we need to remember here is not this moment of his passing, but all the moments that preceded it; what we need to remember is not how he came into this world, but the fact that he lived in it; what we need is to remember is not that John has left this world suddenly and tragically; but what the world was like because John was here.
We need to remember that true friendship, conviction, and honor are a courage all their own and that more can be accomplished in the moments of our day to make this world a better place than even we realize.
John appreciated each of you as a part of our lives. Yes, you were part of our many families, but you, and you alone, have a part to play in this world. At our gatherings, share a moment of how John impacted your life and I know that you will discover another way his honor impacted another. After, in the days and weeks to come, become who you were meant to be by putting one step in front of the other and bring your unique voice to the world. Step out in faith, not fear, and discover the depths that John saw in you.
It doesn’t matter if that is in the small things, or in big ones. Your courage is a muscle, it will expand with use. I love a modified quote from Bradley Whitford, “Infuse your life with action…don’t wait for it to happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from on high, but by doing what you can do to make grace happen….yourself, right now, right down here on earth.” That is a legacy of which my husband John would be proud.