Hazel James Sutphin Moore

Hazel James Sutphin Moore On September 27, 2005, Hazel James Sutphin Moore (Mrs. Ernest Clifford Moore) passed away peacefully in her sleep after 97 excellent years. She was born in Floyd County, Virginia, at Narrowdale Farm, the eighth of nine children of Eliza Ann Hylton Sutphin and James Abraham Lincoln Sutphin, on March 17, 1908. She took advantage of every learning opportunity and graduated from high school with honors. The poetry she learned as a child was with her 90 years later, and she could recite without error such classics as “We’ll go no more a’roving by the light of the moon…” Hazel worked crossword puzzles in pen, and treasured her vocabulary. In the 1920’s, she met the love of her life, and she and Ernest began nearly 70 years of married devotion. Together they hiked, hunted, learned to bird as near-professionals, enjoyed their extended families, and ventured on some exciting trecks. Purchasing a new Nash Rambler in the early ‘50’s, they headed to the West Coast, telling their families that they’d not be getting mail, so any news, bad or good, would have to wait until they returned, and they ventured across country for a season’s adventure. She and Ernest were dedicated members of the First Christian Church in Roanoke, Virginia. She voted in every election from the time she was 21, and her first Presidential vote (for Herbert Hoover) to her last (for George W. Bush) were all cast for GOP candidates. Hazel was a major force in Republican organizations in Virginia until a tragic auto accident affected her vision and her health. While she could no longer participate as before, she supported the party throughout her life in many ways. Her life spanned the century, from farm to city, and her passing is the passing of an era. Hazel’s book, “The Hylton Genealogy: From Castle to Cottage” was begun in 1946 and completed in 1978, and has enjoyed two private printings. Genealogy was one of her great passions, and she enjoyed the interest of “family” all over the county as well as that of other genealogists around the world. Her love for her extended family lead to her creation of a chain letter with all her sisters and brothers, which continues today with great-grandchildren as writers, keeping the family linked together. Hazel was a talented writer, enjoying the written word and either typing on her old Underwood or writing in the elegant hand she had learned in childhood, throughout her life. After Ernest’s death, Hazel relocated to Texas, to live in Huntsville near her family. Governor George Bush appointed her a “Yellow Rose of Texas” with a lovely plaque. Those who bear witness to that life well lived are her nephew, David Weeks, who was her dear son throughout her life, his wife Kelly Weeks, and her grand-nephews, ZZ and Dylan, her niece, Ann N. James and her husband, Donald Holmquest, their daughter and her family, her many other nieces and nephews, friends and loved ones across the country. Special thanks from all the family is extended to Robert Fernandez, Pat Oliphant, the Reverends Bruce A. Hay and Mark Pickett, the staffs of Huntsville Health Care Center, Odyssey Healthcare and the Carriage Inn for their many kindnesses and care for Hazel. A celebration of her life will be held at Sam Houston Memorial Funeral Home 1700 Normal Park, Huntsville, Texas, at 1pm Monday, October 3, 2005, under the direction of Sam Houston Memorial Funeral Home. Her ashes will be interred in Virginia, next to her beloved Ernest, in July, 2006. Anyone wishing to make a donation please do so either to the Huntsville Humane Society (Rita B, Huff Animal Shelter 418 Bearkat Blvd. Huntsville, Tx. 77340) or to the North American Butterfly Association (4 Delaware Road, Morristown, NJ 07960 or www.naba.org). Memorial condolences may be made to the family online at www.shmfh.com

Hazel James Sutphin Moore

March 17, 1908 - October 3, 2005