Robert Emmett Moore, 92, passed away peacefully at home in the wee hours of the morning on July 14, 2024, with his wife and best friend, Robin, nearby.
Bob, as he was commonly known in Montana, was born on November 17, 1931, in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he was raised. He was the only child of Emmett Orren Moore and Johnnie Holton Moore, although he had two half-sisters, Mabelle Moore, and Virginia Moore Pond, who were 22 and 20 years older than he was. His father was a clerk for the railroad, and his mother was a schoolteacher.
Growing up in Wichita Falls, he began his education at Mrs. Rundell's Primary School before entering Alamo Elementary School, Wichita Falls Jr. High School, and Wichita Falls Sr. High School from which he graduated at age 16 in 1948.
Bob played first chair coronet through high school in the Wichita Falls Sr. High School Marching Band, and he always maintained a love of music. He was a Boy Scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. His father shared this time with Bob as a scout leader in various capacities. Many outdoor skills were honed and interests in the natural world were expanded during his time in the scouting program.
Bob was active in the outdoors from a young age. As a clerk for the railroad, his father received free annual passes on the train for his family. Many summer trips were made by train to the Rocky Mountain West over the years, where Bob and his father enjoyed immersing themselves in nature and hiking in the mountains. During this time, Bob read many adventure and history books about the American West which further fueled his dreams of hunting big game and exploring the mountains and prairies of the region.
After graduating from high school, Bob attended North Texas State College in Denton, Texas, where he graduated in 1952 with a degree in Biology. He began his college studies in Commercial Art, but after realizing he did not have the interest nor the real talent to pursue commercial art as a career, he changed his major to Biology. He had taken an elective botany class that had more deeply sparked an academic interest in biology.
Bob married Sara (Sally) Robertson on June 12, 1953, in Marlin, Texas. Sally had a brother, Jack, ten years younger than she, who always looked to Bob as a big brother, role model, and mentor. Jack and Robert, as Bob was known to his Texas family, remained close throughout the years.
In the fall of 1953, Bob entered the U.S. Navy, attending Officer Candidate School, in Newport, Rhode Island. He served three years as a Watch Officer in Pusan, S. Korea, and Yokosuka, Japan. In Japan, he and Sally lived off base, and Bob learned to speak enough Japanese to comfortably travel throughout the country, exploring the countryside, climbing Mt. Fuji, and hunting a little with a Japanese friend on the northern island. He purchased his .270 Winchester rifle, which became his favorite hunting rifle, from the ship's store while stationed in Japan. During their time in Japan, Bob and Sally's first child, Janet, was born. Bob found his Navy experience to be a formative time where he developed his leadership skills and discovered the rewards of working with people.
After his discharge from active duty, Bob completed a Master's program in Zoology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, in 1959, where Bob and Sally's son, David, was born. Bob then obtained his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Texas in Austin in 1962, where daughter, Susan (Sue), was born.
In August of 1962, Bob moved to Bozeman, Montana, for his first academic appointment as an Assistant Professor of Zoology in the Zoology & Entomology Department at Montana State College (MSU). He and his young family arrived in town on a Saturday, and the campus switchboard operators did not work on the weekends. Unable to reach anyone for assistance, Bob was forced to break into their new home in Faculty Court. Bob expressed that the faculty he knew and worked with at MSU were exceptionally helpful to a young, "fledgling," professor as he began his academic career.
During his many years in Montana, Bob was able to fulfill some of his boyhood dreams and became an avid outdoorsman. He hiked extensively throughout the region, hunted big game, climbed many mountains in Montana and across the Pacific Northwest Region, canoed the rivers, and skied in the winters.
In 1963, before running became such a popular activity, Bob began to run to get in shape for hiking and hunting in the mountains. The MSU P.E. Department offered free lockers to the faculty at that time to encourage regular exercise. Bob and another young faculty member were the only two people to take them up on the offer. He was a fixture in the running community for many years, known for his aerobic endurance.
During his first 20 years in the area, he climbed a variety of peaks, including Pilot & Index Peaks and Gannett Peak in Wyoming, and Granite Peak, Crazy Peak, and Gallatin Peak in Montana. The Beartooth and Absaroka Ranges and the Northern Cascades offered a number of other peaks to climb as well, including Mt. Rainer, Mt. Hood, Mt. Baker, and Mt. Shuksan. Bob Schwarzkopf, another young prof in the P.E. Department, was his common climbing partner during this time, along with Robert's teenage daughter, Sue, who accompanied them on many of their climbs. Bob also climbed two volcanoes in Mexico, Pico de Orizaba, and Popocatepetl. Sue accompanied him on the climb of Popocatepetl.
Major backpacking trips included a week-long trek through part of the Grand Canyon, and the Gallatin Crest Trail twice. He and Bob Schwarzkopf also hiked a high mountain trail from Mill Creek to Cooke City over the Absaroka Range.
Bob's close friend, Pete Feigley, became his long-time elk hunting partner, and they shared many enjoyable and tiring hunts together. Bob also enjoyed hunting deer, antelope, mountain goats and big horn sheep over the years. Many epic hunting adventures were shared with Pete, Cliff Youmans, and Brent Haglund, among others. Bob was a hunting mentor to many people during his lifetime.
In 1982, Bob and Sally parted ways. On June 18, 1983, Bob married Robin Lee Kistler in Lake Park, Florida, beginning another 41 years of adventure. Bob and Robin continued to explore the Montana outdoors, hiking, climbing, and hunting together. They also added birding to their outdoor pursuits. Robin had done some birding in Florida before moving to Montana, and she encouraged Bob to become more serious about bird identification. Together they set out to learn to identify bird songs which gave them many years of joy, and eventually led to Bob's involvement with Sacajawea Audubon Society and his teaching Field Ornithology at MSU.
In February of 1990, Bob and Robin's son, William (Will), was born and the outdoor adventures continued with William at their side. The threesome traveled throughout the United States, exploring what each region had to offer. When Will was six, he and Bob climbed Mt. St. Helens in Oregon. At age 10, Will and his parents accompanied friend and ornithologist, Wally Johnson, on his quest to observe golden plovers and other birds on the tundra surrounding Barrow and Nome, Alaska. The family enjoyed traveling throughout the world, to Nova Scotia, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Panama, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Scotland.
When Will was six, he wanted to join Tiger Cubs, and since Bob had retired in 1995, he became a Tiger Cub Coordinator. Thus began many years of involvement in the scouting program with Will. Bob made many wonderful, long-lasting friends, both boys and parents, through his years with the local Boy Scout program from 1996-2012. He served as Cubmaster of Pack 677 from 1997-2001, and then started Boy Scout Troop 677 with the help of several Eagle Scout dads. As Scoutmaster, he was able to use his leadership skills to provide the boys with many wonderful outdoor adventures. He found it rewarding to share his knowledge of outdoor skills and his love of nature with the boys.
Bob was a gifted and passionate teacher and mentor who truly cared about his students and who would try his best to help each student to succeed in his classes. He was a good listener and always made time to meet with students. He loved nature, natural history, and science and found joy in sharing his knowledge and excitement of the natural world with others.
Over his 33+ years at Montana State University, Bob taught a variety of courses in the Biology (Ecology) Department, and he approached each course with enthusiasm and interest. Several courses that he particularly enjoyed over the years were Evolution, Mammalogy, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, Alpine Ecology, and Field Ornithology.
Field Ornithology was very special to him. He taught this course for 31 years. It brought him great satisfaction and joy to share with students his love for birds and the natural world in an outdoor setting. It was not unusual to have former students tell Bob that he had changed their lives after being introduced to the world of birds through Field Ornithology.
Although Bob had research projects and writings of interest, his greatest rewards and sense of fulfillment as a teacher came from helping his students in their academic pursuits. As the Acting Head (1983-1985) and the Head (1989-1995) of the Biology Department, he also experienced great satisfaction in helping his faculty peers to achieve their career objectives. After his retirement in 1995, Bob continued to teach Field Ornithology for 20 years. He also helped the Ecology Department to revitalize the vertebrate collection in the Vertebrate Museum.
Bob also enjoyed teaching an Elderhostel (now Road Scholars) course on the Ecology of Yellowstone National Park for a number of years. It was also a joy and delight to teach small groups of high school students from the Jupiter Environmental Research & Field Studies Academy (JERFSA) in Jupiter, Florida, about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the summer for 18 years. Bob and dear friend and gifted teacher, Phil Weinrich, the JERFSA director, made an excellent pair and provided the students with a wonderful, enriching experience each year.
Bob and Robin were long-time members of Sacajawea Audubon Society. Bob served as the President of the Sacajawea Audubon Society from 1989-1991, while Robin produced the newsletter for ten years. Bob also led field trips, scheduled speakers, and helped with conservation projects during that time. To honor Bob, friends at the Sacajawea Audubon Society have established the Sacajawea Audubon Society Bob Moore Scholarship to be awarded to a graduate student in the MSU Ecology Department to support their research on avian communities and conservation in Montana.
Bob's faith was important to him as well. He and Robin were members of the First Baptist Church of Bozeman, now Peace of Christ Community Church, on the corner of Olive and South Grand, for 41 years. Bob served in a variety of leadership roles over those years, as deacon or elder, and on various committees. He dearly loved his church family, and he was known for his warmth and hospitality, welcoming everyone who came through the front door of the church.
Bob was a kind and thoughtful person who cared deeply about people. Giving of his time to help others was a hallmark of his character. He loved the natural world and was a gifted and passionate educator who made a positive impact on many lives over his 62 years in the Bozeman community. He was a good man. Bob will be greatly missed by his wife of 41 years, Robin, his family, and his many friends.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Emmett & Johnnie Moore, his two half-sisters, Mabelle and Virginia, his former wife, Sara (Sally) Rose, and a grandson, Brice Bundy.
Bob is survived by his wife, Robin; his children, William (Meghan) of Helena, Janet (Ralph) Tanner of Duchesne, Utah, David of Duchesne, Utah, and Susan (Dan) of Clam Gulch, Alaska; eight grandchildren, Kenny Bundy, Jessica Bundy, Jacob (Wendy) Ortman, Arlis (Erin) Ortman, Linda Bristow, Clarice Ortman, Emmett Moore, and Adele Moore, granddaughter-in-law, Natasha Bundy, and eight great grandchildren, Elena Bundy, Gavin, Liam, and Hunter Ortman, Madyln & Ellie Mae Bristow, and Grace & Axle Kaiser, daughter-in-law, Sherri Moore, of Billings, and brother-in-law Jack (Susan) Robertson of Austin, Texas.
The family would like to thank the folks at Enhabit Hospice for their kind, compassionate care of Bob during these final months. Special thanks to his nurse, Paula, bath aide, Abra, and Bethany for their thoughtful care and attention. Many thanks to my "go to" guys, Gary Cook and Tom McMahon, who stayed with Bob many times throughout his whole illness, and who would help in any way they could; to my neighbor, Joan Phillips, who graciously stayed with Bob, sometimes on the spur of the moment, when help was needed; to John Bratke, Grace Holiday, Cathy Lay, and Pastor Jason Bowker, and to all of our church family who lovingly provided food or rides, offers of help, emotional support, and prayers. And to all our dear friends near and far who came by to visit with Bob or who sent messages of love and encouragement. We have been truly blessed to be surrounded with the warmth and love of so many wonderful friends.
Private family interment will be held at Sunset Hills Cemetery. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 10, at Peace of Christ Community Church, 120 S. Grand, with a reception to follow on the lawn.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to honor Bob's teaching and conservation legacy to the Sacajawea Audubon Society Bob Moore Scholarship Fund at the Montana State University Alumni Foundation (www.msuaf.org/BobMoore [msuaf.org]) or mail a check to: MSU Alumni Foundation, P.O. Box 172750, Bozeman, MT 59717, and note in the memo line the fund name.
