Tom Moore, 63, son of BJ Newsroom retiree Tom Moore and Dot Moore, passed away Wednesday, July 3.

A celebration of life will be at 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Chapparells Hall, 2418 S. Arlington Road in Akron. A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m.

Tom, Jr.’s widow is Sabrina Naylor Moore. Their daughter is Amanda Moore. Their residence is on Arlington Road not far from Chapparells Hall.

Tom, Jr.’s siblings are Amy Moore; Caroline Jean Moore Krack, who lives in Minnesota and retired as a teacher's aide; and Katherine Ann Moore, who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, retiring from the Environmental Protection Agency after 34 years. All three are former BJ copygirls.

Tom and Minnesotan Dot were married 69 years ago in the naval communications chapel in Washington, D.C. Tom was in the Air Force at Bolling Air Force Base in D.C. and editor of the base newspaper.

Doris Day once sang to Tom, Sr. and his Air Force buddies.

Tom, Sr's 41-year newspaper career was on the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Zanesville News (now defunct), Lorain Journal, Columbus Citizen-Columbus Citizen Journal (both defunct) and the BJ. Plus four years part-time in the Ohio State Patrol headquarters in Columbus, editing the patrol's magazine,The Flying Wheel.

Tom, Sr. also works with former BJ sports editor Tom Giffen’s Roy Hobbs baseball tournament for seniors in Florida and is a conductor on the Cuyahoga Valley National Park scenic railway.

OLESKY NOTE:
I was only at the event a short while because I had a medical appointment later, but had time to talk to Tom and his daughter. Gloria Irvin and Mary Beth Northridge arrived shortly after Paula and I did so we exchanged BJ memories, too.