James Moore

James William Moore

1946-2022

James William Moore, 75, passed away on January 27th, 2022. He was born May 13, 1946, in Grand Island, Nebraska the son of James Anthony Moore and Beata Christine Elisa (Krugman) Moore. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife of nearly 52 years, Judith Johanna (Steffenhagen) Moore, and his brother-in-law, Gerald Duane Binfield. He is survived by his sons James Joseph (his wife Kelly and children Isabelle, Haley, and Lilly), Sean William (his wife Shui-Jane), and Ryan Charles, and his daughter Michelle Marie (Moore) Taub (her husband David and children Mettabel, Atalia and Zebulon). He is also survived by two brothers and two sisters, Barbara Jeanne (Moore) Binfield, Ruth Ann Moore, John Anthony Moore (his wife Susan Faye [Ludemann]), Thomas Joseph Moore (his wife Sherry Gale [Grim]).

Jim graduated from Central Catholic High School, Grand Island, Nebraska, and received an Associate's Degree from Alan Hancock College, graduating with honors. He served in the United States Air Force for 30 years before retiring as a Chief Master Sergeant in 1994. His military career started in 1964 at George Air Force Base near Victorville, California, where he worked as a draftsman and illustrator in the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. In 1966 he was next assigned to the Alaskan Communications Region at Elmendorf AFB outside Anchorage, Alaska. In 1968, while stationed at Elmendorf AFB, he met and married Judith Johanna Steffenhagen who was teaching at Ursa Minor Elementary School on nearby Fort Richardson. In 1969, the Air Force moved Jim and Judy to Ent Air Force Base, Colorado, where Jim worked in the graphics department of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Headquarters. He also traveled on their IG (Inspector General Team) which evaluated the defense of our country throughout the United States and Canada. He often worked in Cheyenne Mountain setting up a graphic shop inside the mountain.

In 1972, the Air Force assigned him to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Medical Center outside Washington, D.C. where he worked designing medical exhibits for both medical conventions and the military medical museum at Walter Reed. In 1975 he received a call from the Office of the Surgeon General, USAF, to work directly for the Surgeon General and his staff on projects relating to the highest levels of the Air Force Medical Field. At that time he transferred to the James Forrestal Building in downtown Washington, D.C., and later to Bolling AFB, D.C.

In 1982 the Air Force assigned him to Headquarters AFSOUTH (Allied Forces Southern Europe - NATO in Naples, Italy) to work with a multi Allied Joint Command consisting of American, British, Italian, Greek, and Turkish units. In 1985 he was reassigned back to Washington, D.C., this time to work at the Pentagon assigned to the 7 Communications Group where he helped design and build for the Under Secretary of Defense, a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) within the Pentagon that would have multiple capabilities, including video teleconferencing.

In 1989 he received orders to report to Vandenberg AFB, California, to become the Operations Superintendent of the 1369th Audiovisual Squadron, later the 30th AVS and then the 30th Communications Squadron. It was a large squadron responsible for missile and rocket launches. It also had a worldwide mission of Combat Camera. The squadron had detachments that ranged from Albuquerque, N.M., to LA, to northern California, to Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, and later under the 30th AVS, Hawaii, the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan. Very shortly after he got there, his people were sent to photograph the results of the big earthquake in San Francisco and the Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska. Their main task here was to photograph the missile launches from Vandenberg.

After 30 years in the Air Force, he retired there in 1994. After his retirement from the AF, he took a couple of years to take advantage of his GI Bill and attend school. After that, he started working for Graphic Systems in Lompoc, the town next to Vandenberg where he had been living since the Air Force. In 2003 he and Judy decided to buy a Lance Camper and a Ford 250 Heavy Duty truck to haul it. Thus began their 15 camping years.

They have camped in all of the Lower 48 states (except for a couple in the Northeast which are so small they take only a couple of hours to drive through). But they had traveled through all the states, plus a good share of Canada from west to east.

The Lord called him home to the place he has prepared for us. His earthly remains will await the resurrection on the last day at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington D.C., where he will join his beloved wife.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family requests donations to either the DAV (www.dav.org) and/or the Gary Sinise Foundation (www.garysinisefoundation.org/). When on either site, click Donate and then you can enter James William Moore as the Honoree.

The Memorial service will be held at Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Orcutt, CA on February 4 at 2pm. For those who cannot attend or do not feel comfortable attending, it will be streamed and archived on YouTube (youtu.be/HdsHC9_SgKw)