Terry Lee Moore

1949 - 2021

Terry Moore passed away peacefully at home with family on February 24, 2021. He was a young active 71, but was unable to overcome the effects of a stroke. Terry was affectionately called Dad, Uncle Terry, and Grandpa Terry, known as T Moore at work, and at the Hi 4-H Haunted House he was Lurch the Doorman.

Terry was born in Monterey, CA, the oldest son of Dewey and Lois Moore. He grew up in El Sobrante, a small town in the Bay Area, with 2 sisters and a brother. Terry loved sports and science and swam the butterfly on his high school team, earning his Varsity letter. He graduated from Deanza High School in Richmond in 1967 and went on to Contra Costa College in San Pablo. He put himself through school working at Mcdonalds. In February 1969, he met his future wife on a blind date. She was a student at UC Davis so he changed his mind about college in southern California. He traded scuba diving for basketball and snow skiing and transferred to UC Davis. He earned a B. S. degree in Soil and Water Science in December 1971. Terry was a first generation college graduate.

During college, Terry labored one summer on a PG&E general construction crew. After graduation, he was hired by PG&E and did payroll for the GC crew. When his probation period was up, he took his resume to Personnel and was hired as a Hydrographer at PG&E headquarters in San Francisco. He was responsible for the Eel River watershed where he measured the water and provided the forecasting numbers.

Terry proposed to Susan (Sue) Mcclelland with the ring he bought with his first PG&E paycheck after graduation. They were married July 1, 1972. They first lived in an apartment in Pinole, then in a small house in Martinez, then a house in Concord with a larger yard where they could have chickens. Terry and Sue bought their first home in Pleasant Hill. It was an older house and they soon realized it needed a new roof. It was a good thing Terry and his brother Ted were handy, as they spent a rainy week replacing the roof.

In 1975, Terry was transferred to Angels Camp where he worked as a Senior Hydrographer until his retirement in 2013, a total of 41 years with PG&E. Among other duties, he did the stream flow studies and measured the snowpack, which frequently put him on the front page of the local paper. He made great friends at work and was highly respected for his knowledge and technical experience.

Terry and Sue briefly lived in Angels Camp, then bought a house near Columbia where they had a big garden, fruit trees, and raised their two daughters, Melinda and Marianne. They joined the Sierra Squares Square Dance Club and Terry was President at one point. He was always part of his girls’ activities and their biggest fan. He was an assistant coach for ASA softball, then became a 4-H leader to help with their livestock projects. When Sue became the county 4-H staff, Terry was the set up and tear down volunteer, always with a smile and making it fun. He volunteered with the Small Livestock Association and the Mother Lode Fair because that’s where Sue and the girls were. They had a house built north of Sonora, with more room for the sheep, chickens, turkeys, and ducks and always a couple of dogs. After retirement, dog walking became one of Terry’s favorite hobbies, where he made friends with all the neighbors and knew the names of all their dogs.

Terry and Sue enjoyed traveling and exploring new places. His favorites were Cambria, Yosemite, Tahoe, Sedona, north shore Kauai, Boston, Quebec City, and Amsterdam. He loved his family and friends and was thrilled to become Grandpa when Marianne married Joe Galetti. He will most be remembered for his sense of humor, ability to get along with anyone, and his devotion to his family.

Terry is survived by his wife Susan, daughters Melinda Moore (Matt Hedley) of Truckee and Marianne Galetti (Joe) of Fresno, his sisters Dianna Mcginnis and Kathy Moore, and brother Ted Moore (Pam), grandchildren Madison, Kaia, and Kolton Galetti, and many nieces and nephews and their families. Terry was preceded in death by his brother-in-law John Mcginnis. The family will have a private memorial and scatter his ashes in the High Sierra where he spent all those years measuring the rivers and snow. Donations in Terry’s name can be made to City of Sonora, for the Dragoon Gulch Trail, 94 N Washington Street, Sonora CA 95370. He walked their dog Stella there every morning.

Terry’s ultimate quest was to find the perfect fish taco. If you happen to find one you would recommend, let him know.