Dr. H. Leslie Moore II's Obituary
Dr. Hugh Leslie “Leslie” Moore, II, M.D., a beloved pediatrician, professor, and family man whose insatiable curiosity and dry wit touched generations, died on September 3, 2025, in Dallas. He was 86.
Born on January 6, 1939, in Dallas, Leslie carried forward a proud family legacy: his grandfather, Hugh Leslie Moore I, was the first physician in Texas to specialize in pediatrics, and his father, Dr. Robert Leslie Moore, also practiced pediatrics in Dallas. Together, the three represented more than a century of medical service to Texas families.
Leslie attended the University of Colorado–Boulder, graduating in 1960, where he served as president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He went on to Southwestern Medical School–Dallas, graduating in 1964. From 1967 to 1969, he served his country as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, responsible for the Pediatric Teaching Program at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego.
Returning home to Dallas, he joined his father in practice before later forming a long partnership with colleagues Roger Schorlemer, Ernie Fernandez, Pat Hieber, and Joe Hanig. Over a 34-year career in private practice, he cared for thousands of children and their families, while also serving as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Southwestern Medical School–University of Texas Health Science Center.
Dr. Moore’s contributions to pediatric medicine were widely celebrated. He was repeatedly honored as a “Top Doctor” by D Magazine, listed in Best Doctors in America, and named one of Ladies’ Home Journal’s “Best Family Doctors in America.” In 2006, he received the Mead Johnson Pediatric Lifetime Achievement Award. He also served on the Board of Directors of Children’s Medical Center Foundation and belonged to numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, Texas Pediatric Society, and Dallas County Medical Society.
Though dedicated to medicine, Leslie was never defined by it alone. He possessed a lifelong, insatiable curiosity about the world - a quality he passed on to his children and grandchildren. A traveler, birder, chess player, and motorcyclist, he embraced pursuits that spoke to both his intellect and his love of adventure. In his retirement, he and his wife, Dr. LeAnn Kridelbaugh, traveled the world. His family recalls that he sometimes joked he wanted his headstone to read, “He was a curious fellow” - judging himself to be both inquisitive and endearingly odd.
As a father and grandfather, Leslie was a gentle nurturer, drawing on his decades of pediatric experience. When each of his grandchildren was born, he and LeAnn traveled to be by his daughters’ sides, offering guidance and reassurance in the earliest weeks of the children’s lives. It was his way of providing comfort, not only to the newborns but to the parents learning their new roles.
He is survived by his wife, Dr. LeAnn Kridelbaugh; his daughters, Gwen Moore Holliday and Carrie Moore Becker; his son, Hugh Samuel Moore; and five grandchildren, Henry and Campbell Holliday and Ivy, Gwendolyn, and Roome Becker. He was also uncle to Francie Moore, Robert Moore, Sergei Moore and Lisa Moore. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Robert Moore and Maybeth Moore; brothers, Robert Moore and William Moore; and his first wife, Shirley Carpenter Moore McGuire.
A memorial service will be held at Park Cities Baptist Church on Saturday, September 13th at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Visiting Nurse Association of Dallas, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, or Park Cities Baptist Church.
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