By: Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Family, friends, and colleagues of Bucyrus Mayor Roger Moore filed through City Hall Friday afternoon to pay respects to the late mayor.
Calling hours for the mayor were held in Council Chambers from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday afternoon, and again from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday evening.
City Service/Safety Director Jeff Wagner summed up Mayor Moore’s passion for Bucyrus.
“He truly believed in Bucyrus, the city he lived in. He preached it, he lived it and it was in his heart. He wanted to make the city a better place for everybody,” Wagner said. “That is why he was in office. It was truly for the love of the city.”
Garen and Ashlee Moore, Roger’s nephew and niece, reflected on the mayor. They talked of his cheerful personality and his dedication to their family. “The last thing I got to say to him was I love you,” Ashlee Moore recalled.
During Calling hours the Bucyrus Chapter of the Guardian Angels stood guard outside of city hall. Robin Michael, Commander of the Bucyrus Guardian Angels, appreciated the way that Roger Moore himself would patrol the streets himself.
Roger Moore wasn’t just Mayor of Bucyrus; he also worked hard to support charity events. Moore served as celebrity auctioneer at the HomeCare Matters Health and Hospice Annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner and Auction.
“We really worked well together we did a lot of different things with the celebrity waiter dinner and auction this year, and we had some big plans for next year as a matter of fact,“ HomeCare Matters Health and Hospice Development and Marketing Coordinator Dean Heid said. “He is going to be really missed he was such a friend of HomeCare Matters volunteering his time energy and effort raising thousands of dollars for us. He was just a good all-around guy. It is just a shock that he is gone.”
School friend and Wynford Board of Education member Rhonda Rowland remembered Moore from their days in school. Rowland was excited to see the progress Moore was making in his leadership position, and she was heartbroken to see his life taken so suddenly.
Bucyrus City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Deb Pinion remembered Mayor Moore as a supportive person with many goals.
“He has just always been supportive of everything that I tried to do, and I tried to be supportive of him, too,” Pinion said. “He had a lot of plans, and wanted to get things done, and it is always great for someone like me as an older leader in the community to see someone younger like himself with that fire that we need to carry us forward. I will sure miss him.”
Bucyrus Police Chief David Koepke remembered the mayor as a positive person and a goal oriented leader. Koepke appreciated Moore’s positive outlook and his search for positive solutions, as well as his vision for Bucyrus. He shared his belief that the city of Bucyrus need to carry out that vision.
Funeral services for Mayor Moore will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 24 at the Nazarene Church in Bucyrus. Burial services will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.