Jerry Hugh Moore of Sheridan, Arkansas went home to be with the Lord on Monday, April 2, 2012 at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock.

He was born October 28, 1938 at El Dorado, AR, the oldest of three sons born to the late Hugh Elbert and Annie Mae McLelland Moore. He grew up in the oil fields around El Dorado and Smackover. He attended elementary school in Strong, AR, riding a homemade wooden school bus with no glass windows. During rains, a tarpaulin was unrolled to keep the students dry. He attended Junior High in El Dorado and High School in Smackover, graduating in 1957. He also attended Southern State College in Magnolia, AR (now South Arkansas University). He was a member of First Baptist Church in Sheridan, AR.

In 1960, he married the girl of his dreams, Carolyn Ann Andrews in Smackover, AR and lived for a short time in Plaquemines Parish, LA before returning to Arkansas. In the early 1960's, he began a long career in the food business with Ritchie Grocer Co. In El Dorado. In 1969, he and his family moved to Pine Bluff where he worked a sales territory for several food companies, most notably with the old Vogel's Co. In Little Rock which was purchased by the Sysco Corporation. He finished his career in 2005 with Quality Foods, Little Rock which became Quality Performance Food Group.

Jerry was a country boy in every respect and never lived inside the city limits of a town until he was a grown man. As a young man, he loved to hunt squirrels, rabbits, oppossum, raccoons and deer. After he moves to Pine Bluff, his love of hunting gave way to a newly found passion–fishing. Although he caught a few bass big enough to mount, his real love was fishing for crappie and big blue gill and redear bream. He loved to fish old oxbow lakes under the canopy of huge cypress trees. His favorite quote was Henry David Thoreau's "Most men spend their entire lives fishing without realizing it was not the fish that they were pursuing". After catching two monster bream at Belcoe Lake in the 1970's, he stopped at a grocery store on the way home and weighed the fish. One weighed 16 oz., the other weighed 17 oz. Jerry said he had the fish weighed so he wouldn't have to lie about the weight.

Jerry had the extraordinary ability to enjoy the simple things of life. He never owned a luxury automobile or a fancy boat or had any desire to. He was happiest when his boat was tied under a 200-year-old cypress tree with a tube of crickets, a couple of spam sandwiches, a boiled egg, and a cold soda pop.

He was a former member of Pine Bluff City Council representing the First Ward. He was a former member of the Intercity Kiwanis Club where he served a year as President and was a Deacon at First Baptist Church before moving to Sheridan in 1993.

Jerry had many friends that he met as a salesman. Some of his customers became his fishing buddies and after his retirement, he stayed in touch with many of them by telephone.

He was not afraid to tackle any project. He did maintenance work on all his vehicles and did all but major repair. He also "invented" items to serve him better on his boat, motor, trailer, riding lawnmower, etc. In 2002 he built a three-car garage almost entirely by himself. In 2003 he built "the best deck in Grant County" largely by himself. In 2005, when he was 67 years of age, he built a retaining wall around one side of his house using 200-lb. cross ties entirely by himself. He was quoted as saying "I did a lot of two-man jobs by myself". He loved to write fictional short stories and wrote dozens of poems from satire to religious. He loved old time country music and the big band sound.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carolyn Ann Andrews Moore of Sheridan, and their three daughters, Melanie Rothwell and her husband, Jim, of Arkadelphia, Krista Pyle and her husband, Michael of St. Louis, Missouri, and Holly Baldridge and her husband, David of Pippa Passes, Kentucky His mother, Annie Mae McLelland Moore Davis of El Dorado, Two brothers of El Dorado, Jimmy Don Moore and Bobby Joe Moore. Two grandsons, Stephen Rothwell and Chase Pyle. Two granddaughters, Mary Rothwell and Rebecca Baldridge.

Jerry loved the Lord and his family dearly and taught his oldest grandson, Stephen how to ride a bicycle, drive a car, and shoot a gun.

A Celebration of life service will be 10:00 AM Thursday, April 5, 2012 at Memorial Gardens Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Ernest DeSoto officiating. Burial will be at Smackover Cemetery in Smackover, Arkansas at 4:00 PM also on Thursday. Visitation will be from 5:00 until 7:00 PM Wednesday at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 1201 South Rock, Sheridan, Arkansas 72150 or the Arkansas Chapter of the American Cancer Society.