J. Dennis Moore, 80, of Lenox, died May 5 at Baystate Medical Center after having fallen from a ladder 2 days earlier. Dennis was sole proprietor of New England Financial Group, 100 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield. As he was semi-retired, his auxiliary “office” was the Lenox Coffee Shop.
Dennis was educated at Fordham and Niagara Universities and earned a Doctorate in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1973. He pursued a 20-year career in secondary education as a teacher in the Bolton Landing and Cayuga Central School districts in New York and administrator at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, Connecticut and Leominster High School, Leominster.
In 1981 Dennis relocated to the Berkshires and took the helm as principal of Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.
Dennis subsequently made a mid-life career change to the world of finance, becoming a junior partner of Sears Van Alstyne at New England Financial. He derived great satisfaction from discovering clients’ values and helping them develop financial plans to achieve their goals. He particularly enjoyed working with his business associate, Katherine Newey of Baystate Financial, on retirement planning with public school teachers.
Dennis also still loved teaching and for many years taught principles of money management at the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies (BICS) to gap-year students generally from Advent Christian churches up and down the Eastern seaboard who were considering Biblical studies or Christian ministries as a vocation. Dennis was a member of Hope Church in Lenox and served on the Hope Church Finance Committee.
Dennis loved people and constant activity and had manyinterests. He loved music and dance and theater especially. He also loved playing golf and was a member at Wahconah Golf Club. It was typical of him to rush home from an afternoon of golf to attend a play or concert. Dennis volunteered at the Tanglewood Tent Club for many years. He was an avid runner for 40 years and enjoyed hiking, biking, kayaking, and snowshoeing as well. He practiced yoga and Pilates faithfully to maintainhis mental and physical fitness. Although Dennis was known as a really funny guy by his family and friends, he had a serious, reflective side and was a disciplined practitioner of journaling his thoughts and activities.
Dennis had enrolled in reserve officers training (ROTC)while an undergraduate at Fordham and was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant upon graduation. He served in the Seventh Army Quartermaster Corps in Grafenwoehr, Germany, 1963-65.
Dennis is survived by his wife of 53 years, Anne Moore; two sons, Peter Moore of Hatfield and Stephen Moore of Cloverdale, California; Stephen’s partner, Rachel Coulter; a grandson, W.A. (Wolfie) Moore, of Cloverdale; a sister, Jacqueline Moore Lover and brother-in-law, Rev. William Lover of Gainesville, Virginia; three nieces, Kristin Kahl, Karen Mullen, Debbie Bryant and grandnieces and nephews of Sterling, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia and Stratford, Connecticut respectively.
Dennis was a proud 12th generation descendant on his mother’s side of Henry Howland, a younger brother of the Pilgrim John Howland of Mayflower fame; Henry arrived in America a year later in 1621.
A celebration of Dennis’ life is planned in the future when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Donations can be made in Dennis’ name to the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies (BICS) at P.O. Box 1888, Lenox MA 01240.