Arnold Thad Moore

Born July 17, 1932 to John Vernon Moore and Norma Madsen Moore in Ogden Utah, 
Arnold Thad Moore was the middle of three sons, born between John Vernon Jr., the oldest, and Norman Ray. Growing up in the shadow of the Great Depression, the boys were raised to understand the value of hard work. Yet they maintained their spirited sense of fun in the face of trials even as their mother’s tuberculosis and father’s bouts with alcoholism necessitated stays in foster homes and Ogden’s home for orphaned boys, which was no match for the trio, who escaped and worked their back to Salt Lake, where the family then resided.

As a young man in the city, Arnold maintained an active social life and began working as a second generation painter. He met the love of his life when helping two young women move furniture into a downtown apartment building. After climbing three flights of stairs carrying a heavy chest of drawers with a sprained ankle, he knew the experience was worth the toil when he saw his future wife for the first time, as she was unpacking dishes in the apartment’s kitchen. Shanna Marie Bellon recognized him from a caroling episode earlier that Winter, when she was so struck by the beauty and power of the singing voice resonating from the row behind her that she turned to see to whom it belonged.

An unlikely courtship ensued between the beautiful, book smart country girl from Roosevelt and the street smart city boy with an enormous heart. The pair wed in Salt Lake City in 1955 and started a family. Their first daughter, Wendy, was born prior to Arnold enlisting in the Navy in 1956. He achieved a rank of Corpsman First Class and served aboard the USS Trathen and USS De Haven. Over his two years of service, Arnold accrued adventures and misadventures alike, which he recounted many times over the years to the great delight of his audience. Arnold always was a natural and engaging performer, being blessed with that very special singing voice and a warm personal charisma. He had a way of lightening hearts in challenging times, and making the good times more memorable. 

After completing his Navy service, the young family settled in Bountiful and along came daughters Tammy, Deborah and Kimberlee, and sons Brad and Brett. Love for family was the central, constant aspect of life for Shanna and Arnold. He showed his total devotion to his family through working at Hill Field AFB as a missile guidance system technician during the day, a janitor at night, and as a paint contractor in his spare time. Eventually he established his own contracting business, always finding a way through the ebbs and flows with hard work, perseverance, and a song in his heart– and, when appropriate, a little swearing under his breath.

The family remained close as it grew, and Shanna and Arnold reveled in their role as grandparents (Nana and Pa), and eventually, great grandparents. Uproarious holiday gatherings were the norm, as were tale tellings in later years of the great grandchildren’s exploits. 

Shanna preceded Arnold beyond the veil in 2009, slipping from his sight but never from his thoughts nor his heart. As his once unbreakable body was rendering it’s final days of service, he asked nightly for prayers that upon drifting off to sleep, he may awake in Shanna’s tight embrace. After a life lived with love, zest and generosity, on the morning of November 26, 2022, while he slept Arnold Thad Moore was granted quiet passage to the realm of his beloved.

Private family services will be held.