Robert Moorhead

Robert Lewis Moorhead, a lifetime Californian, died on May 24th at the age of 95 of natural causes. Born in Eureka, California on November 28th, 1926, Bob’s family moved to Richmond and then settled in Berkeley. The son of John Moorhead and Alice Kester, he had two brothers, and three sisters, all of whom are deceased. He was an active Boy Scout, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle. He graduated from Berkeley High in 1944 and served two years in the army at the end of World War II after which he attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he met his beloved wife, Jean Stem. He then attended and graduated from UC Santa Barbara. He and Jean married on August 19, 1949 and were together almost 70 years, until her death on July 9, 2019. In 1952, after a brief time in Santa Barbara and Temple City, they moved into a duplex on Benvenue Avenue in Berkeley. In 1958 they moved into a home on Balfour Avenue in Oakland where they lived for 42 years before moving to Velarde St. in San Leandro and then, in 2010, to Piedmont Gardens in Oakland

Bob began a long teaching career at Golden Gate School in Oakland, first as a wood shop teacher, and later as an elementary school teacher. He transferred to the Arts School in Oakland where he ended his 40+ years of teaching in the Oakland School District. While a teacher in Oakland, he was instrumental in the formation of the Oakland Federation of Teachers, the unionization of the teachers, serving as vice-president in that organization. All three of his children attended Oakland public schools and UC Berkeley. After retiring from teaching Bob spent his time working at the First United Methodist Church of Oakland’s food distribution program and volunteering his carpentry skills building theatrical sets at Encinal High School in Alameda where his son taught drama. Bob was known for his gentleness, his kindness, and his humor. He was always more interested in what you were doing than what he was doing. He loved the outdoors, watching baseball with Jean, and cooking. He became an excellent bread maker, and the margarita/taco nights that he and Jean sponsored for the Broadway Children’s School were always a sought after item in that school’s annual fundraising auction. The door to the home he built with Jean was always unlocked and the two of them became second parents and grandparents to friends of their children and grandchildren and to foreign exchange students. He leaves behind a legacy of working with and for those whose roads were not as smoothly paved as his own.

Bob is survived by his three children Mary Howard(Carmichael), Bob Moorhead(Oakland), and Jane Moorhead (Dublin), five grandchildren (Rachel, Celia, Andrew, Zach, and Emma) two sons-in law (Rich and Bob) and a daughterin-law (Amy). A casual celebration of life will be held at the Quail Picnic Area in Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland on June 24th from 4:00-7:00 pm. Friends of Bob are invited to attend. Find more information at the following link: everloved.com/life-of/ robert-lewis-moorhead/.