Remembering Mr. Thomas “Big” Moore

“I never thought I would see a time that so many people were so afraid of dying that they were willing to stop living.”

That was a quote that Thomas Moore—affectionately called “Big” because of his stature—forwarded on to his Facebook page May 15, and perhaps they are words that are perfectly suited for the man that he was, because living is exactly what Moore did, and he did it in a manner that positively impacted the lives of those around him.

To the dismay of his friends, students and business constituents throughout Houston County, Perry High School Operations Football Director Thomas Moore passed away on Monday following a bout with COVID-19. When listening to the memories of those who were acquainted with him, a common theme resonates loud and clear. Moore lived. And his was a life that clearly brought joy and laughter to those whose paths he crossed.

“He would make everybody he met feel special,” said Danny Carpenter, former Houston County School Superintendent. “Especially the children and the kids. My daughter, Katie, went to Perry Middle, and he hired her to teach at Perry Middle. I went to tell her this morning, and she was extremely upset,” he said of Katie’s reaction to the news of Moore’s death.

“I never worked with Big, but I was the superintendent who hired him as the principal at Perry Middle,” Carpenter went on to say, noting also that he’d known Moore since Moore’s days of being assistant principal at Warner Robins High School, which was some time in the 90s. “He was stellar. Listen, if you didn’t like Big, something is wrong with you,” Carpenter stressed. “And if you talk to people who worked day to day with him, they would agree.”

And they did. Everyone who shared their thoughts, regardless of their place in Thomas Moore’s life, agreed that he was an exceptional man who lived a praiseworthy life. He had an unmatched sense of humor and a way of livening up a room with an oversized personality that matched his famed physique.

Head Football Coach and Athletic Director of Perry High School Kevin Smith came to know Moore during his (Smith’s) coaching days at Northside High School. That’s when Moore’s oldest son, Tommy, came to Northside to play football as a part of the team. Even after Tommy graduated high school, Smith mentioned that he and Moore remained in touch with each other.

“He was the Perry Middle School principal for a number of years,” said Smith. “When I got interviewed for the Perry job and got hired, he was getting ready to retire, and he said, ‘Hey coach, I’m going to need something to do.’” Smith said that’s when he told Moore that he could come and help him get his program off the ground. The fact that Moore had a lot of influence and had established relationships with administrators and businesses in the community, he was able to able to do a lot of things behind the scene that helped tremendously in getting sponsorship dollars and organizing and planning meetings and events.

“We’re now going into our fourth year at Perry,” Smith said. “We’d been working together for a relatively short period of time, and I didn’t realize how much Big really did until he got sick. Here we are getting ready to go into football season, and he’d already done a lot of stuff. Even when he went in [the hospital], he called me. I could tell he was struggling with his breathing, but he was saying, ‘I got all this stuff; I’ve got to get all this stuff that I did to you,’” Smith relayed. “And I’d tell Big to stop worrying about that stuff, we just needed him to get well. But up to the very last time I talked to him, his concern was still on getting the stuff to me for the upcoming football season. He really loved our kids, our program and the Perry community.”

Written statements poured in from those who knew, loved, and will remember Moore’s life and legacy forever.

Perry City Councilman Darryl Albritton who formerly served as principal of Perry High School Principal from 2004 to 2016, stated, “We are all shocked and saddened to hear the news of the death of Thomas Moore. He was principal of Perry Middle during my tenure at Perry High. We could always count on Thomas lightening the mood at our monthly, often stressful, principals’ meetings. His ‘Big’ personality was infectious, as he never missed an opportunity to make everyone laugh. We will all miss him.”

Stephen Thublin, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Business Operations for Houston County Schools wrote, “He was a good and loyal friend who loved to laugh at the world and find humor in it. He loved his family, his friends and the Perry Panthers.”

“Thomas A. (Big) Moore was an exceptional leader who led with a huge heart,” wrote Retired Assistant Principal Dr. Alfreda Fluellen-Hall. “He loved people; especially children. He firmly believed that giving our best to our students would provide the largest dividend in our society. Big valued building lasting relationships and he made a BIG difference in so many lives. I will truly miss him.”

Sharing his thoughts on Moore’s social media page, Dr. Scott Malone with Middle Georgia Orthopedic posted these words: “Today, I lost one of my best friends in Houston County. Big had a great heart and was a tremendous asset to all of the lives he touched as a coach, educator, husband and father. I could always count on him for encouragement. No more suffering, no more pain. I am sure he is smiling down on us from above. I will try not to be sad too long because Big would tell me not to. RIP.”

In a conversation with Houston Home Journal, Jesse Davis, who knew Moore for about two decades, said he had the pleasure of being one of the panelists of people set in place to hire the new principal when he met Moore. Moore was the last candidate to be interviewed for the position. “It was a very, very long day of interviewing,” Davis recalled. “The superintendent was Danny Carpenter at the time, and he said, ‘I know it’s been a long day, but this next guy coming in … they call him Big … and he’s about to wake y’all up in here. This is going to be the way to end a long day of interviews.’ And he certainly did just that,” Davis declared.

Descriptive words like “humorous” and “enthusiastic” were among those Davis used to describe Moore’s character that day. “He was a card,” he said with a chuckle. “Little did I know… that point set the table for countless interactions for the rest of the time that I knew him. I was a principal in the district here with him, and we had some commonalities through our coaching background. One thing for sure about the guy,” Davis said, “there’s not another one like him. He was probably the funniest human being I’ve known. I thank him for the many laughs we shared together.”

One memory that Davis said stands out in his mind that embodies Moore’s sense of humor was what he called “a ridiculous selfie photo” that he and Moore took together wherein they both made exaggerated silly faces.

“We made copies and would slip them in people’s office among their family photos,” Davis said through laughter. “We did that all over the state among educators, and we’d get a call a couple of weeks later when they finally noticed the picture there, and they’d be like, ‘What in the world are you crazy jokers doing?’ It’s just a ridiculous picture that became famous because we left one everywhere we went. I’ve had people calling me even today telling me that they were looking at that picture while remembering his life.”

Summing it all up, Davis said, “I met Big as a part of an interview process. It was a long, lengthy and tiring one. He walked in and just lit up the room, and he continued to do that for the next 20 years—lighting up rooms and lives everywhere he went.”

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