W. Richard "W.R." Moore | Eastern North Carolina Now

Born: May 08, 1949, Died: January 04, 2015

    W. Richard ("W.R.") Moore of Washington, N.C., former Special Deputy Attorney General, passed away after a brief illness on January 4th, 2015, at the age of 65.

    He was born May 8, 1949, in Fayetteville, NC to the late Rev. Raymond E. Moore and Mareta Huggins Moore. He is survived by his son Richard Earp Moore and daughter-in-law, Jennifer Diane Moore, who reside at 1417 Wensford Court, Raleigh, NC 27615. Also surviving are three older brothers and a sister: Lt. Col. Roy Elsworth Moore and wife, Carol Levinson Moore, of Raleigh, NC; Maxine ("Mac") Moore McFadyen and husband, John Page McFadyen, of Smithfield, NC; Martin Guy Moore and wife, Judy Lee Moore, of Greenwood, SC; Raymond Joseph Moore and wife, Sue Stephenson Moore, of Garner, NC.

    Richard spent most of his formative years in Lillington, NC, Lake View, SC, and later in Four Oaks, NC, where his father was a Baptist minister, Director of Missions in the Johnston Baptist Association, and missionary to several foreign countries including Grenada and St. Vincent. Richard graduated from Four Oaks High School in 1967 and continued his education at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, being conferred the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 and the Juris Doctorate degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1974. Thereafter he practiced law in Smithfield and Selma, Johnston County, first with the Mast Law Firm, and thereafter in private practice for 18 years. In 1992, he began a 20-year career as a trial lawyer with the North Carolina Attorney General's Transportation Section in Raleigh. He supervised a specialized staff of attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants as the head of the Condemnation Unit of the Transportation Section, assigned to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, representing the State of North Carolina in highway condemnation cases from Charlotte to the east coast until his retirement to Washington, NC in 2011. Until his last illness, he enjoyed gardening and leisure pursuits with many friends and neighbors.

    Richard was a former member of the Selma, NC Historic Commission and was instrumental in the preservation and restoration of Selma's Union Train Depot, which is now a functioning AmTrak station and railroad museum. He also served as a member of the Washington Area Historic Preservation Foundation in Washington, NC. He was a fourth-generation Master Mason and a member of Fellowship Lodge # 84, AF & AM in Smithfield, NC.

    In lieu of any flowers, the family asks that donations please be made to your local hospice, SPCA, or animal shelter.

    Expressions of condolences may be made to Richard Earp Moore at 1417 Wensford Court, Raleigh, NC 27615 or to www.paulfuneralhome.com.

    Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Moore family.