David Bethune Moore

David B. Moore was born on November 27, 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the son of Edward “Wink” and Mary Moore and brother of Michael Moore.  He graduated from University School in 1955, where he was captain of the wrestling team and an all-city tackle on the football team. In 1959, Dave graduated from Williams College, where he was a philosophy major, New England champion wrestler, and member of the Chi Psi fraternity.  Dave met Priscilla Gilliam in 1960, and they wed in 1962, raising their beloved children Lisa and Ted. He held family above all else, and adored his five grandchildren.  

He worked in sales with Cleveland-Cliffs and Man-Gill Chemical before working 19 years at First Boston Corporation, where he became a vice president in the national sales group. He then joined Smythe, Cramer (later Howard Hanna) forming a husband/wife team with Priscilla to sell residential real estate in greater Cleveland and Naples, Florida.  

Dave was a dedicated volunteer. He was a trustee of Hiram House Camp since 1971, a former vice president-finance and treasurer, and member of the governance and finance committees. He was also heavily involved at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, where he served as former member and president of the Men’s Council, and spent 27 years as director of the Servers Guild, responsible for recruiting, training, scheduling, and supervising several hundred teen aged boys and girls as acolytes over that period. Dave also kept a strong connection to University School, where he was a longtime class agent, frequent planner of class reunions, and former member of the Alumni Council. He was an avid attendee at US football games and wrestling matches, and even helped instruct and recruit wrestlers during his friend Dick McCrea’s tenure in the 1970s. The common thread of these causes was that they were for the benefit of young people, and many of his acolytes and wrestlers have expressed that they considered him a valuable mentor and role model.  

While in Naples, he served his other alma mater as president of the Naples Area Williams Alumni Association. Once back in Cleveland, he served 11 years as treasurer of his condo association at Point East.  He continued his athletic pursuits throughout life, as a biker and jogger in earlier years, and active tennis player well into his seventies. He was a lifelong fan of Cleveland sports teams (often hearkening back to their glory days in his youth) as well as of high school and college wrestling.  Dave also maintained a keen interest in financial markets. At the time of his passing, he had been a member of the 21 Investment Club for over 20 years, and had chaired its investment committee for over 10.  

Dave will be remembered for his dry sense of humor, particularly the dad and grand-dad jokes that delighted his grandchildren. He was known to be kind, supportive, enthusiastic, and down to earth. He was a good man.Dave is survived by his beloved wife, Priscilla, of a day short of 63 years, and by their dear children Lisa (Rich Mercado) and Ted (Janice). He was a loving grandfather to Ted Mayer, Catherine Mayer, Alexis Mercado, and Renee and Caterina Moore. He is also survived by his brother-in-law John Gilliam (Deane), and generations of cherished cousins, nieces, nephews, and extended family. 

The family requests that any memorial contributions may be made to Hiram House Camp, 33775 Hiram Trail, Moreland Hills, OH 44022 or University School, 2785 SOM Center Road, Hunting Valley, OH 44022.

A celebration of Dave’s life will be held at Cleveland Skating Club, 2500 Kemper Rd., Shaker Heights, on Saturday, September 27, from 2-4 pm.