John V. Moore died peacefully on July 27, in Friday Harbor, Washington, six weeks shy of his 100th birthday. The retired United Methodist minister had lived in Friday Harbor for 4 years, enjoying the company and care of residents and staff at Village at the Harbour. A faithful member of Lutheran Church in the San Juans, he had many friends in the congregation who appreciated his wit and wisdom.
A graduate of Stanford University (1941), he earned a divinity degree from Colgate Rochester Divinity School (1944). John then worked in more than a dozen different parishes in northern California and Nevada in his 40-year-long career. He was the senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco during the Haight-Ashbury era, and a founding member in 1965 of the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, a group that advocated for gay rights.
He also held leadership roles in the United Methodist Church at the local, state and national levels. In his retirement, he directed an AIDS hospice in Sacramento and helped found Loaves and Fishes, a program that assisted homeless individuals.
When his Grandfather Buxton saw him as a newborn almost 100 ago, he told John’s mother that, “this one isn’t going to make it.” But John outlived all of his siblings and their spouses; his wife of 62 years, Barbara; two daughters, Carolyn and Annie; and two grandchildren, Kimo and Hillary. Carolyn, Annie and Kimo died in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978; subsequently, he and his wife counseled other parents whose relatives were involved in cult-like groups.
He is survived by daughter Rebecca and son-in-law Fielding; grandchildren Timothy Edgar and December Pomerenke (and her spouse Cory); and great-grandchildren Conner and Breann.
A Memorial Service was held at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 3, at Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church with a reception following at the church. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in John’s memory to the Family Resource Center, P.O. Box 1981, Friday Harbor 98250, or to the charity of your choice.
To share memories of John, please sign the online guestbook at www.evanschapel.com.
