Richard Moore

iRichard K. “Dick “ Moore , 89, of Waco, a Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, at McLennan Community College, passed away Thursday, June 28, 2012 at a local hospital.
Graveside services will be 10:00 am Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at Waco Memorial Park . There is no scheduled visitation.
Moore was born June 7, 1923 in Fresno, California. He attended school, graduating from Fresno High in 1941. Following the start of World War II he moved to Los Angeles to work for Lockheed Aircraft Company.
He was inducted into the U.S. Air Force Company in January 1943, trained as an armorer and sent to the Philippines with the Fifth Air Force. He lost sight in his left eye from a machine gun explosion and was returned to the United States for medical treatment. He was awarded the Purple Heart and was Honorably Discharged in November 1945.
After the war, Moore enrolled at Fresno State College where he earned a B.A. degree in Journalism. In college he was editor of the student magazine, president of his fraternity and the Inter-Fraternity Council, and a member of the Blue Key Honor Society.
In 1951, he married Willis Buckman and was named to the dual position of Publicity Director for the Fresno County and City Chamber of

Commerce and Executive Secretary of the Fresno Junior Chamber. In 1956, he was appointed Director of Public Relations for the Fresno plant of North American

Aviation. When the plant closed in 1958, the company transferred him to McGregor, Texas as Director of Public Relations for Rocketdyne’s new Solid Rocket Division.
While living in McGregor, Moore was active in community affairs. He served two terms on the McLennan Grand Jury, and was instrumental in inviting some 300 members of the American Rocket Society to hold a technical conference in Waco. He became a member of the steering committee to form a junior college and when a bond was approved by voters, he became Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, a position he held for two years before his company transferred him back to Los Angeles.
Moore then joined Dart Industries as Director of Public Relations. He became an Accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America , was elected president of the Los Angeles chapter in 1976. The following year , he was appointed chairman of the society’s Southwestern district with oversight responsibility for six chapters in Arizona, Southern California and Hawaii.
He left Dart in 1981 to start his own public relations management firm, serving industrial clients . One of these clients sent him and his wife on a round the world trip to gather information on a new waste treatment system they were representing in the United States. He retired in 1992 and wrote two historical novels based in the World War I period, A Loss of Freedom and A Struggle for Normal. During this period , he traveled with his wife to some 40 countries of the world and enjoyed a dozen ocean cruises.
Moore and his wife moved to Waco in 2004. They have been active with the Harrison Senior Center and he has served for several years on the Advisory Committee of Meals and Wheels. He also served four years on the Waco Aviation Advisory Board and tutored students at Lake Air Middle School and Crestview Elementary for three years. He was active in the Kiwanis of Waco Seniors, and was a member of the Board of Directors and Program Chairman for three years.
He was preceded in death by his son, Richard Charles and his sister Shirley Creswell of Nampa, Idaho.
Moore and his wife raised three sons: Willis Guy (Bill) of Sacramento, California, and James Walter of Waco, Texas; a sister Lorene Moore of Boise, Idaho. Also surviving are his daughter-in-law, Dianne Moore of Waco, and three grandchildren: Lauren Moore of Waco, and Elisha and Jeremy Moore of Austin.
Guest Book is available at www.oakcrestwaco.com.