George M Moore Jr.
George “Mack” Moore left to dwell with our Lord and Savior on July 30, 2023. His life, compassion and service in the face of adversity will be his living legacy along with his wife Luann, their son Dalen of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and two grandchildren, Westin and Webber and his brother Tom of Bartlett, Tennessee. Mack never met a challenge he couldn’t overcome and he is an inspiration to all who had the privilege to know him.
Mack entered this life on February 5, 1944 born to George and Francis Moore in Oxford, Mississippi, where he spent his early life hunting, fishing, attending church and playing high school sports. While he enjoyed farm life, the skies called to him, his first word as a child was “airplane”, and he joined the Air Force to serve his country as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War after graduating from Ole Miss in 1966.
Mack served two tours in Vietnam and in 1970 was returning from a night mission when his plane struck an obstacle while landing, crashed, and burst into flames. He was burned over 70 percent of his body and his injuries resulted in him living the rest of his life as a triple amputee. He could have retired from life and let the physical challenges overwhelm him, but he showed tenacity and drive through 49 operations in the next 43 months. He returned to school to earn his second degree in business from Arizona State University in 1976 and subsequently graduated summa cum laude from Carnegie Mellon with his MBA in 1984.
Mack joined the Department of Veteran’s Affairs in 1981 to serve his comrades in arms. His military experience, injury, compassion and drive to serve were key components in his rise through the VA system. He focused on helping all the people he could and in 1986 Mack was recognized as its Outstanding Disabled Employee of the Year and this was followed by President Ronald Reagan selecting Mack as the Outstanding Federal Handicapped Employee of the Year in 1987. These awards were the first in a long line of recognition for outstanding performance and service to others both professionally and personally. On the personal front, Mack won the Streamline and Buckmaster Handicapped Hunter of the Year awards and he was selected to carry the Olympic torch for the Los Angeles and Salt Lake City Olympics.
In 2005, Mack was selected to serve as the Director of the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center in Shreveport Louisiana. His keen sense of patient needs coupled with a high sensitivity to veteran satisfaction led to more recognition as the eighth person to ever receive The Disabled Veteran’s LIFE Award. He retired from the VA system after 30 years of service in 2010.
He met and married Luann Graber in 1974 for time and they were later sealed for eternity in a temple ceremony in 1976. Throughout his life Luann proved to be the support he needed to meet the challenges of life. Their life together was spent in loving those around them, helping where they could and serving the Lord in their daily activities. One of the happiest times of Mack’s life was when he served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the Hill Cumorah Pageant in 2014.
Mack continued to serve and help others in his retirement. He was instrumental in coordinating and funding the construction of a church on his property for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and led the men in his local church in organizing service opportunities, personal growth and fellowship.
Mack will always be remembered for saying, “A winner is just a loser who tried one more time” and truly living this motto in his amazing life. He will be missed by all who knew him, but we all know he is now “running” with a better crowd.
The viewing services will be held at the Holly Springs Funeral Home at 1160 Hwy 311, Holly Springs, Mississippi, on August 4, from 5 to 8 pm. Funeral services will be at 643 Bishop Road, Holly Springs, Mississippi on August 5, at 11am, with a short viewing prior, beginning at 10 am.
There will be a graveside service to follow at the Red Banks Cemetery. There will be a reception at Red Banks Baptist Church, North Red Banks Road, Red Banks, Mississippi
after the graveside service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mack’s favorite charity, Tunnel to Towers at T2T.org