Jody's Garage

Longtime business leader Moore dies

By Tom Murphy, Rocky Mount Telegram

He was a good family man with a sense of humor who gave back more to his fellow man than he took.

That's how longtime friends characterize George Marvin Moore Sr.'s life. Moore, 67, died Thursday at his home after an extended battle with cancer.

Moore was vice president and general manager of the real estate division of Chambliss & Rabil Commercial Realty in Rocky Mount.

Norman Chambliss III, vice president of Chambliss & Rabil Contractors, said he thinks Moore was one of the most well-liked people in the community.

"Everybody considered George to be their good friend, because he treated everybody that way," Chambliss said. "Jimmy Rabil (Chambliss & Rabil Contractors president) and I will forever be deeply appreciative for the impact that George had on our company."

Moore joined Chambliss and Rabil in 1990. Chambliss said Moore had a positive impact on the business.

"Our business started to improve, and we associate all of that success to George," Chambliss said. "We will really miss him at Chambliss & Rabil. George was the spirit of this company."

Friends said Moore was a man of high character and never sought credit for helping others.

"George Moore was one of the finest people I've ever known," said Jim Dickens, owner of Dickens Business Forms. "He was one who served his fellow man. He had a great wit. He was just a fun person to be with. Anybody who ever spent any time with George will agree with probably everything I've said. He has had a tough life in the last several months with his cancer. But he also had a strong fighting spirit that enabled him to give every ounce of strength that he had to whip it. When he knew he couldn't whip it, he had the courage to accept it. I'm satisfied that he is with his Maker, right now. But he will be missed by his friends here on this Earth."

Tom Looney, who served on the Rocky Mount City Council for several years, said, "George Marvin and I were back-door neighbors growing up. We've known each other as long as you can know anybody. George was the most compassionate person I have ever known. He was a moving force in the homeless shelter, in Hospice, Habitat for Humanity and for a number of years went up to Caledonia Prison every Wednesday night and taught a Bible study class for a number of prisoners up there."

Looney said Moore extended a tremendous amount of his life serving other people.

"He was awfully good at what he did – commercial real estate – and he did a good job," Looney said. "He was very knowledgeable and kept up with the (real estate) market in Rocky Mount."

Looney said Moore kept an information file about tracts of land that spanned several decades.

"He could tell you what a particular property sold for in the 1950s and 1960s," Looney said. "He had important information about his business. He called himself George Moore – Honest Realtor. And he was. He advertised that fact in Smoke, the Rocky Mount Kiwanis Club's newsletter. It's sort of tongue-in-cheek, but it's true about him. He had a wide reach of friends. He was so kind to people that he actually made friends easily.

"In my estimation, he always seemed to think the best of everybody. He had a wonderful sense of humor, a lot of which was directed toward funny things that had happened to him. In the last weeks he was alive, a person could spend 20 or 30 minutes with him, and he'd make you laugh."

Bill Kincheloe, owner of Wildwood Lamp Co., knew Moore for 45 years.

"George and I grew up in different sections of Rocky Mount," Kincheloe said. "We were good friends through high school and good friends all our lives. George has meant a lot to this community. He's given and given. He's had his ups and downs, but has given a lot more than he's taken."

Moore was a good family man, but most of all a good friend to a lot of people, Kincheloe said.

"He's done a lot of things in the community that many people never knew about," Kincheloe said. "He never hesitated to take on any challenge that anybody gave him. We've been business associates and close personal friends for all these years. He will be missed not only by his friends, but by the community.

"George was one of these people who was perennially upbeat, regardless of his personal situation. He had a wonderful personality. He loved to kid around. He was a very, very entertaining person, as well as a sincere and hard-working person."

John High, owner of John H. High & Co., said Moore was an asset to the Rocky Mount real estate community.

"He was an understudy of Henry Gregory, and there probably was no more knowledgeable man in Rocky Mount than Gregory," High said. "He was an outstanding citizen. I've known George since 1955, when we were in high school together. He did a lot of coaching for Little League."

Memorial services for Moore will be held at 2 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church

ROCKY MOUNT
GEORGE M. MOORE, Sr., Sept. 26. Arrangements by Bowling Funeral Home & Crematory.

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     GEORGE MARVIN MOORE, Sr., passed away Thursday, September 26, 2002 at his home. He was born August 31, 1935 in Rocky Mount, son of the late Harry Ballard Moore and Esther Rea Moore.
     After attending Rocky Mount City Schools and the University of North Carolina, George became an active member of Rocky Mount civic affairs. He was a commercial realtor with Chambliss and Rabil. He was President of the Board of Realtors in 1971 and 1989, Realtor of the Year in 1970 and 1990, recipient of the Realtor Citizenship Award for North Carolina in 1987, President of the Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce in 1977, Director and President of the Habitat for Humanity, Director and Vice President of Community Ministries, President of the Kiwanis Club in 1977, Lay Leader of the First United Methodist Church, County Social Services Board, Boy Scout Program volunteer and Eagle Scout in Troop 11, Founding member of the Bombay Bridge and Bicycle Club, and Fort Landing Outing Society Limited, Caledonia Prison ministry for 12 years, "Day for Wesleyan" volunteer since its conception, Hospice founder, and YMCA Board of Directors, and was instrumental in finding a home for the homeless shelter.
     He leaves to cherish his memories, his loving wife of 40 years, Noel Doster Moore; his sons, Joel Doster Moore and wife, Amy of Pittsboro, NC, and George Marvin Moore, Jr. of Wilmington, NC; his brothers, Dr. Harry B. Moore and wife, Nancy of Raleigh, and James Rea Moore and wife, Ellen of Red Oak; and numerous nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews, whom he loved dearly.
     Memorial services will be today at 2:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church.
     No visitation will be held at the home, but will follow the memorial service in the church fellowship hall.
     In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the United Methodist Church Columbarium Fund in memory of George M. Moore, Sr.
     Arrangements are entrusted to Bowling Funeral Home & Crematory, 661 English Road, Rocky Mount, NC 27804.

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