Mary Elizabeth Moore passed peacefully from this earthly life on Saturday, April 1, 2017. She was born in the family home in Davis, WV on Sunday, July 20, 1924, the daughter of John and Anna (Novak) Mosco.
She attended Davis High School, graduating in 1942. Mary was the youngest of four children, and grew up on the family farm at the edge of town with brothers Joe Mosco (Ruby), Lee Mosco (Pat) and Veronica Mosco, all of whom preceded her in passing.
Mary met Warren Earl Moore of Parsons at a high school basketball game in Thomas, WV. As the story goes, neither could afford a ticket into the game, so they stood at the entryway the entire time and got to know each other. They exchanged letters throughout WWII and she married Earl after he separated from the Army Air Corps in 1945. Mary and Earl raised four children: Betty (George) White, John (Bess), Joseph (Laura) and Michael (Angela). They were blessed with eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Mary was a second generation American, both parents having emigrated from Poland. Her life growing up mirrored life in the ‘Old Country’. Beginning at a young age, Mary would milk the cows, feed the chickens and pigs and bring in coal or wood for the stove in the evening. She cared for her father in the home until his passing. The family then moved to Alexandria, Virginia in 1969, where Earl worked as a Virginia State Trooper. In her later years, Mary enjoyed daily Mass on EWTN, Polka dances and “country shows” on TV; family gatherings and cooking. No visitor was allowed to leave the house on an empty stomach.
Mary and Earl were lifelong members of St. Veronica and Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, as well as St. Louis Catholic Church in Alexandria, Va. She was active in the St. Veronica’s Lady’s Guild and a bereavement volunteer at St. Louis Catholic Church. Mary worked for over twenty years in the Fairfax County School system as a cook in various school cafeterias.
Visitation was conducted at the Hinkle Funeral Home on Friday, 7 April from 12 noon to 2 p.m., with the celebration Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church at 2:30 p.m. Interment followed at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Thomas. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Box 300, Thomas, WV 26292. Louella Jewell Fike Mcelrath
