LaVerne Griffin Moore's Obituary
LaVerne Griffin Moore was born in Navarro County, Texas, on November 4, 1923. She was the sixth of eight children born to Asa and Ella Griffin. Growing up with a big and rambunctious family, LaVerne was small and shy, but her independence showed up early when she decided to become a lifelong vegetarian at the age of 7. No amount of sibling teasing could get her to change her mind. She was also a bright child, working side by side with her older brother Max on his homework before she had started school. She loved learning and skipped a grade once she did start school. Her farming family moved frequently when she was growing up, but LaVerne continued to excel at school and graduated as valedictorian from Mirtens High School in 1940.
After graduation, she attended junior college but ultimately moved to Shreveport, Louisiana to be with her older sister Wilma and her brother-in-law, Jack Rieves. While in Shreveport, LaVerne began working and found that she really had a talent and a love for business, ultimately moving to Dallas, Texas (again to be with her older sister, Nannie Sue) and starting work at Grand Avenue Bank. It was here that she found her lifelong career, banking, and where she would find her lifelong partner and husband, Charles R. Moore. Having just returned from naval service during World War II, Charles started as a bank teller, reporting to LaVerne. They started dating and married six months later on October 26, 1946. They celebrated 58 years of marriage which ended upon Charles’ passing on March 30, 2005.
Family, faith, and a strong work ethic were three important elements in LaVerne’s life. LaVerne deeply loved her brothers, but she was especially close to her sisters, Nannie Sue, Wilma and Betty. They were all powerful forces to be reckoned with…feisty, independent, loving and kind. Although they grew up in tough circumstances, especially during the depression, they all became the linchpins in their family, living as role models on how to be strong, independent women who definitely knew their own voices.
LaVerne had two main passions in her retirement years, watching sports with Charles and crossword puzzles. She loved football, baseball, hockey and basketball (all Dallas teams, of course). She not only followed the teams, knew all the stats of the players, when they were traded, and where they were traded. She also followed news about the players’ families, and all about the coaches and their families. She was amazing! Besides watching sports, her greatest enjoyment (before her eyesight worsened) was to work her crossword puzzles…often spending six to eight hours a day working through crossword puzzle books. It was difficult to keep her in stock!
Faith and worship music were also important to LaVerne. Her father, Asa, would sing at revival meetings and LaVerne would occasionally join him in performance. LaVerne joined First United Methodist Church of Allen after Charles passed. FUMC Allen became another highlight in her life over the last 15 years, developing close friendships with a number of women who attended the same early morning service.
Besides her faith, family was LaVerne’s firm foundation. She loved, loved spending time with her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren, and her nieces and nephews and their families.
LaVerne is survived by her son, Dan Moore and his wife, Anneke, her daughter, Denise Compton, her son-in-law, Mike Wolf, her grandsons, Jared and Aaron Wolf, and their wives, Sara and Anne, her granddaughter, Shannon Compton, and her great grandchildren, Kyle, Haley, Alex, Jacob, Brady, and Chase Wolf. LaVerne is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews. She is greatly loved and will be greatly missed by her large family.
The service will be Saturday May 30, 2020 12pm graveside service Court of Good Shepherd at Restland Funeral Home.
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