Ms. Mary Lou Russell Moore, age 66, passed away peacefully in her home on Friday, December 18, 2015.

Mary Moore was born on November 8, 1949 in Jacksonville, FL to Whit Russell and Aileen Ferguson Russell. She moved with her parents to Pensacola when she was a toddler. She lived in Pensacola all of her life and often said she could never live anywhere else.

Ms. Moore was awarded a Bachelor's Degree of English Education from the University of West Florida in 1988. Ms. Moore was then an English teacher at Pensacola Catholic High School for 27 years. Ms. Moore felt it was her calling to teach; her greatest joy was found when she could close the door of her classroom and be with her students exploring ideas and the beauty of the written word. Ms. Moore never allowed anyone to get by with minimal effort. She had high expectations of herself and her students, challenging everyone to do their best. She loved to see her students rise to the challenge and her students loved her. Nearly everywhere she went there would be a former student who would smile and greet her with "Hey Ms. Moore".

Mary Moore told friends and family she never had any desire to travel but thanks to her daughter who married a Sailor, and her son who left home, she did often travel. She would tell you the story of loading a rocking chair in a very small car to bring to her daughter in Jacksonville, FL after the birth of Ms. Moore's first grandchild. She would tell of taking her grandson to look for sharks in Mississippi. She loved to talk about exactly how cold is cold thanks to her December trip to Maine. She would tell you that her granddaughter lost her heart in Virginia and her grandson found his calling in New Jersey. She would tell you of the first time her son cooked Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo in Jacksonville, FL (a few years after his sister left that very place). She would mention how proud she was to be at her son's graduation from Johnson & Wales in Charleston, SC and how Charleston might be the only other place on earth she could live besides Pensacola, FL. She would tell you how beautiful her son's wedding was on the shore of Port Royal Sound in Beaufort, SC. She would tell you that she hated to travel but the sight of her baby grandson made every minute of sitting on a runway in Atlanta, GA worth it. She didn't like to travel but she loved her family and would dare to be away from home in order to be with them.

When Mary was in Pensacola, she enjoyed being with friends and family. On PTA nights she would often go to the movies with her fellow teachers between school and the meeting. She enjoyed her quarterly bridge game and would joke that she might be one of the worst bridge players ever but her friends kept letting her back. She enjoyed the movies with her cousins. She spent a great deal of time with her friend and neighbor of nearly 20 years.

Ms. Moore gave. That's what she did. As a teacher, friend, sister, aunt, cousin, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, she gave. Her absence will be keenly felt.

Ms. Moore is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Glass and her son-in-law, James Glass; her son Russ Moore and her daughter-in-law, Kathy North; her granddaughter, Amanda Glass; her grandsons, John Michael Glass and Whit Moore; and her great-grandson, Richard Beau Duke.

Memorial Mass will be held 1:00pm Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart with Fr. James Valenzuela celebrant.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Waterfront Mission.