Obituary of Betty Lou Moore

Betty Lou Moore, 74, always serving others Betty Lou Moore loved many things: antiques, gardens, cooking and china painting. But one of her greatest loves was volunteering. "She just had a loving heart, a loving heart for everyone," said Ms. Moore's daughter, Margaret Ball, of Crittenden. Whether cooking at her children's high school cafeteria, coordinated bake sales at her church or visited the residents at the Rosedale Manor Retirement home, she spent her life helping others, according to her son Joseph Moore, of Independence. Ms. Moore, 74, died at her home in Independence. She was born and raised in Northern Kentucky, living in both Independence and Covington. Her son described her as "very beautiful," not only physically, but emotionally as well. She filled her life with service to others. At Simon Kenton High School, she regularly volunteered in the school's cafeteria, combining her love of charity with her love of cooking, her son said. She even canned her own vegetables, which she grew in a garden on her five-acre home in Independence. "She had her own canning equipment," her son said. She used her skill with cooking to better her church as well. Ms. Moore was born a Baptist, her son said, and had been going to Hickory Grove Baptist Church for more than 40 years. She taught Sunday School in addition to preparing the church's events. Ms. Moore's charity, however, didn't stop there. She volunteered in the year before her death at Rosedale Manor, hoping to ease the residents' isolation. Ms. Moore would visit with them, take them shopping or even just comb their hair, her son said. "She got such joy from that," Ball said. But, while she enjoyed working for others, there was one activity that she loved more than any other - china painting. For the painting, her "biggest passion" according to her son, she owned her own kiln. Collecting antiques, her son said, was another pastime that she adored. "Almost 75 percent of the stuff in her house are antiques," her son said. "Anything antique, she wanted it or had it." But, she never put anything before her family, her son said. Ms. Moore loved her 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, enjoying just having them visit her. "She just loved to be around every one of the grandkids," he said. She even took them on vacations, including Disney World in Florida and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Other survivors include her husband, Edward A. Moore, of Independence; two sons, Jeffrey C. Moore, of Paducah, and James L. Moore, of Fort Thomas; and two brothers, Leslie Jacobs, of Union, and Thomas Jacobs of Florence, 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be at the Hickory Grove Baptist Church, 11969 Taylor Mill Road, Independence, at noon Saturday. Visitation will run from 9 a.m. until the funeral service begins. Her burial will be at Independence Cemetery, at 2167 Dixie Highway. Memorials may be sent to the Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Independence, Ky., 41051.