Obituary of Thomas Marlin Moore

Thomas Marlin Moore entered this world August 19^th, 1944 in Horton, Kansas. He grew up on a farm with his younger brother David.  When speaking of his childhood, he recalled that punishment for misbehaving often involved his having to pull invasive 7-feet tall sunflowers from endless rows of cornstalks. He graduated from high school in Troy, Kansas in 1962, spent the next year attending a local college and in 1963 he joined the U.S. Navy. He spent the next twenty satisfying and productive years in Naval Air Mechanics as a Flight Engineer on C-118 transport planes moving personnel and equipment from place to place around the USA. He was fortunate to always be stationed stateside.

Tom retired from naval service in 1983 with the rank of Petty Officer First Class and moved to Burleson, Texas. In 1984 he went to work for State Farm Insurance Company as an Auto Estimator. In 1987 he was joined at State Farm by his wife Janet, who worked as a Claims Processor and they worked together until both retired in 2009. But, Tom had too much energy to just retire to an easy chair in the shade. Now it was time for the fun stuff; hunting, fishing and woodworking.

Tom built a wood shop in his backyard, dug and planted a home garden, played on local softball teams and founded the United Bass Association of Burleson, through which he and Janet, as a team, fished bass tournaments all around the state of Texas. They also enjoyed other fishing pursuits like frequent trips to Lake Powell in southern Utah, where they and a group of like-minded friends would rent a houseboat and spend the next two weeks floating, fishing and fellowshipping. Do I need to emphasize that Tom loved fishing!

He once landed a 117-lb. Blue Marlin off Baja California. It seems prophetic that his parents chose Marlin as Tom’s middle name. But I guess his middle name could also have been Whitetail.  While birdwatchers like to watch birds, Tom liked to watch deer, but he liked to use a rifle scope. Sometimes he watched from a tree stand with a hunting bow. And when the state of Texas said deer season was closed, Tom liked to watch wild hogs. On one particularly dark and cold pre-dawn morning in Bosque county Texas, Tom was sitting on the ground leaning against an oak tree waiting for sunrise and he sensed some movement between his spread knees. It was a coiled rattlesnake. Too close to shoot, Tom clubbed it to death with the butt of his rifle. I think this qualifies Tom to be called a Sportsman. (At the same time, I can’t help but think that, if heaven also holds all creatures great and small, Tom may have some explaining to do.)

Now, not all creatures lived in fear of Tom. At home in his easy chair Tom was inseparable from his cat Charlie, and make no mistake, it was his cat, or as all cat owners know, Tom was Charlie’s human. Hopefully Charlie can vouch for Tom in heaven’s animal kingdom.

Tom departed this life Sunday morning February 2^nd, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents Dale and Allene Moore of Tyler, Texas and his in-laws Raymond and Betty Goyne.

Tom is survived by Janet his wife of 52 years, daughter Paula Thomas and her husband Danny, son Toby Moore, and daughter Stephanie Craig and her husband Paul. Survivors include two granddaughters, Morgan Marler and Lauren Maynard, and great-grandchildren, Lillian and Jansen. Also, Tom is survived by his brother David Moore and his wife Kathy of Tyler, Texas, and sister JoEllen Maynard of Colorado and her husband Phil. Added to those mentioned are numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, and close friends.

Tom’s family particularly wants to thank the hospice nurses and staff who surrounded Tom with kindness and caring during his final days and Chaplin Ron Suarez for his assurance and ministering to ease Tom’s passing.

Celebration of Life service for Tom will be held Saturday February 15^th at 11:00am at Alsbury Baptist Church, located at 500 N.E Alsbury Blvd. Burleson, TX.

Interment will be at DFW National Cemetery Monday February 17^th at 9:15am.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers; please consider a donation to the American Parkinson Disease Association or the Humane Society of North Texas.