Philanthropist Sherrold Moore left lasting legacy
He was a modest but tenacious man who, at a time when others retired, stepped up his commitment to bettering his community. When Sherrold Moore died April 3 at 88, the longtime engineer and executive at oil giant Amoco Canada left a hardto-match, multi-decade legacy of philanthropy, professional accountability and community spirit. “His hobby was community involvement,” says Dr. Kelley deSouza, medical director of Rockyview General Hospital. “He was a special guy. He looked and aimed high. He didn’t hit the finish line of his career and then sit back.” Moore served two decades on the board of the Calgary Health Trust, and as chair of the Rockyview Hospital development council where deSouza met him eight years ago. “I called him ‘the boss,’ not because he had any authoritarian ways but because when he talked others listened. He was a formal mentor but he influenced many others who watched, and learned, as he moved people by persuasion and his passion.” Facing mobility and health issues toward the end, deSouza says Moore was completely engaged in hospital council matters, well prepared for meetings, cheerful and never complained. Moore joined the late Bud McCaig, Calgary Health Trust’s founder, in 1996 to unite fundraising efforts for Calgary’s acutecare hospitals, Carewest longterm care sites and community health programs. Those efforts to date have raised $427 million. While Moore was a strong advocate of, and fundraiser for, the public health-care system, his volunteer efforts extended throughout many Calgary sectors. An accomplished athlete most of his life — he rode his bicycle into his 70s — he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, and chaired both Swim Canada and the Alberta Sport Council. He was on the boards of the Glenbow Museum, Alberta Theatre Projects and Calgary Chamber of Commerce, established Amoco’s corporate social responsibility portfolio, and was a leader in environmental conservation both in his working life and as a longtime member of the Nature Conservancy. He also sat on Premier Ralph Klein’s Round Table on the Environment. “Both Sherrold and (his wife) Pat personified the attitude of their generation that with good fortune comes the responsibility to give back,” says Bill Sembo, Calgary Health Trust board chair, who knew Moore for 25 years. The philanthropist, he says, was an inspiration to others with his strong work ethic and sense of moral duty. “He always told us a publicly funded system has its limitations and if we expect excellence, those that can, should give.” And give he did. “It was not just about money, it was about giving time, passion, ideas, mentoring and educating,” says daughter Cynthia Moore, who, following in her father’s footsteps, serves on the Calgary Health Trust board. “It was bred in his bones, just as it has been in mine,” she says. She describes Rockyview Hospital, in particular, as “his place” because its council was seen as a proud model for other Calgary hospitals. Moore’s legacy is based on strong business principles, but marked by creativity and innovation. “He got so excited and invigorated by other people and by ideas,” says Moore. David Routledge, a 10-year-member of Rockyview Hospital council and now vicechair of Calgary Health Trust, benefited from Moore’s mentorship in his own philanthropic and business life. “He believed in, and brought out the best in people, setting the tone from the top with his passion for getting things done,” says Routledge. “He always finished what he started. It is remarkable how far his reach was; he has truly helped develop the next generation of community leaders.”