In Memoriam

John Allen Moore

John Allen Moore would have turned 94 on March 20. This was the first year his family had to celebrate his birthday without him.

John Allen was my father’s first cousin and one of the boys who hung out with Pud at Camp Last Resort. The two were fast friends. John Allen’s remarkable memory of my father and of our shared family lore was a primary impetus for the publication of The Last Resort. I dedicated the book to him.

This week, my cousins Bob and Sandy Goodlett and I made what has become an annual trek to Atlanta to see our Moore cousins. By happy serendipity, our visit coincided with John Allen’s birthday. We were able to celebrate with his widow, Jane Chappell, and two of his four children, Deborah Costenbader, from Austin, and Cindy Caravas, from Virginia Beach. We also spent time with John Allen’s brother, Joe, and his wife, Jean.

Upon our return to Kentucky, we learned that another of the Last Resort boys, “Rinky” Routt, had died in February, soon after celebrating his 98th birthday. We were saddened to get that news and to recognize that not one of my father’s Salt River companions is left to tell their stories.

Our lives are cyclical, of course. We all walk the same inevitable path. But as I mourn those we have lost, I’m finding great joy in reaching out to others whose lives intersected theirs either tangentially or prominently. Getting to know John Allen’s children may promise as much joy as getting to know him late in his life. Reconnecting with my father’s friends, students, and colleagues—as well as my older cousins who knew him well—has augmented my understanding of him and of myself. My life is better because of these emerging relationships.

If you have questions about your own family history, I hope you will find the courage to ask questions of those who may have answers. You may be surprised at what you learn. Perhaps more consequentially, you may develop friendships that will continue to exhilarate you. Time is short. Don't wait. 

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In Memoriam

Several individuals associated with The Last Resort have died since its publication in August 2017. I’d like to honor them here.

​To those who are mentioned in the pages of The Last Resort:

• John Allen Moore (1925-2018)
• William “Rinky” Routt (1921-2019)
• Davy Fallis (1941-2018)

And to those who patiently endured my questions about my father or his Lawrenceburg ties:

• John McWilliams
  Son of George McWilliams Jr., my father’s good friend and my mother’s cousin
• Ann Denny
  Wife of Charlie Denny, my father’s longtime colleague
• Mary Dowling Byrne
  One of my father’s good friends while growing up in Lawrenceburg
• Holly Buckner Salisbury
  Rinky Routt’s niece and a distant cousin

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Joe Moore, John Allen's brother, 2018.

The Moore family gathering, March 2019: Sandy Goodlett, Deborah Costenbader, Jane Chappell, Bob Goodlett, Sallie Showalter, Cindy Caravas