Richard Oates and Jerry on their last hike together, near Boulder, Colorado. October 18, 2018
WHEN JERRY REALIZED that his days were few, he told me that I would speak at this service. Yes, he told me, he didn’t ask. He first said I had 10 minutes, then he said , “No,” 5 minutes.
My first thought was, “how can I cover his life in just 5 minutes.” Jerry Moore had been my friend for almost 40 years. Most of those years, he was my best friend. We worked, biked, hiked, fished, canoed, golfed and even motorcycled together all over the United States. From Maine to California.
One of my favorite and funniest memories of my travels with Jerry was on a 2-day canoe trip down the Buffalo River in Arkansas. We had one of my sons and my grandson with us. Shortly after our take off, Jerry and I had a little spat about how to maneuver the white waters. Jerry was a bigtime kayaker and I was used to canoeing. He wanted to go fast and I said “no,” we have to go slow because of all the gear we were carrying in our canoe. Well, my son and grandson to this day still laugh about the “big argument” they claim that Jerry and I that day.
Jerry lived the American dream. He grew up in the small town of Mancelona, Michigan with very modest means in a large family of 8 children. No college degree but somehow he convinced his first boss in the brokerage business to hire him. Years later he became a manager. He managed offices around the country and landed here in "the Denver area where he retired. He was very successful, traveled all over the world and had a part in the success of many people, both in the Investment and Wrestling communities.
When our Lord created and put Jerry Moore on this earth, he put a great son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, boss and friend here. Over the last few weeks, we have laughed a lot, cried a lot and prayed a lot.
When two of my sons realized how sick Jerry was, they sent Jerry these text messages. These pretty much sum up the man that Jerry Moore was.
Text from Emil: “Good morning, Mr. Moore. This is Emil. Richard has kept me up to date on your condition. I hear you guys have had some good laughs this visit. I remember when we went camping and canoeing with Kaelub. That was such a special trip to all of us. Witnessing a bond between my stepdad and his closest friend made a great impact on me then. It showed me another great side of Richard and brought us all closer together. Thank you for being such a GREAT friend to our family.”
Text from Michael: “Mr. Moore, this is Michael Oates. I hope you are managing ok today, dad has said it’s really rough for you. I wanted to tell you some things that I have been meaning to lately, it always seems I have 28 hours of work to do and a 24 hr day to get them done.
I have always had the utmost respect for you. From the first time I met you as a little kid you were always as nice as you could be to me and Jason. It seemed that no matter how big you got in the corporate world you were always down to earth as a person. I know my father has so much respect for you and always has. He always talks so highly of you and I know y’all’s visits mean the world to him.
I still remember that blue Toyota 4 Runner you drove years ago. I remember thinking how cool it was that the manager of a big broker firm drove a truck that had a removable top. I remember when dad would have me and Jason at the office it was always fun to see you because you were cool to talk to. I have a habit of waiting too long to tell people things, so I wanted to make sure I wrote you today. I hope that life has brought you everything you wanted because you definitely worked hard for it and deserve it. You will always have my respect Mr. Moore. I hope you and dad enjoy your visit. ~ Michael.”
I thank God that he gave me my friend Jerry; and, Jerry — I appreciate you.