Phyllis Moore Obituary

Phyllis Outcalt Moore passed away peacefully April 18, 2009, at Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs, surrounded by loved ones. Phyllis was born September 22, 1931, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She graduated from Douglass College (then New Jersey College for Women) as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, majoring in English with a minor in Spanish. She met her future husband, Russell Moore, at a mixer for Douglass and Rutgers students, and married him in 1952. They lived in Springfield, Massachusetts for many years and had three daughters. In 1976, Phyllis and two of her daughters packed everything they owned in a van and set off across the country. She fell in love with the wide open blue Colorado sky and found a longtime home in Colorado Springs. Phyllis worked several summers at Pine Knoll Swim School in Springfield so that her children would have the opportunity to attend. She was a junior high school teacher at schools in the Springfield area and also worked for a time at Springfield College. After moving to Colorado Springs, Phyllis worked at the YMCA, then became the Director of Volunteer Services at Memorial Hospital in 1978. She retired from that position in 1994. Working with the volunteers, she made many wonderful lifetime friends. Phyllis loved travel and road trips with family and friends. She was a fierce competitor in Bridge and Scrabble. Music was very important to her, especially folk music and the songs of Bob Dylan, whom she “discovered� in the early 1960’s before he became a household name. During her final days, she touched many hearts of those who cared for her in the Oncology Unit at Memorial Hospital, then at Pikes Peak Hospice. Phyllis is survived by her sister Jean Finney, daughters Kathi Lovell, Susan Hazelwood and Carolyn Daley, sons-in-law Robert Lovell and Michael Hazelwood, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. We will miss her sense of humor, her sharp intelligence, and her strong spirit. A Celebration of Life, followed by a reception, is planned for 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 26, at the Upper Lodge on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent to Memorial Hospital Foundation, Pikes Peak Hospice, or Douglass College.