Charles Hewes Moore Jr.

          Charles Hewes Moore, Jr. of Laporte, Pennsylvania, passed away at home on October 8, 2020.  He was an Olympic gold and silver medalist, business leader, university athletics director, and philanthropist.  The eldest child of Charles Hewes Moore, Sr. and Jane Scott Moore, Charlie was born in Coatesville, PA on August 12, 1929.  Charlie graduated from Mercersburg Academy in 1947 and from Cornell University in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

He is survived by Judith McClellan Moore, his devoted wife of 49 years; eight children; 16 grandchildren; and one great grandchild, as well as his sister, Anne Moore Batley.  In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his son, Charles H. Moore III, and his brother, Thomas G. Moore.  His family meant the world to Charlie.  Rita Moore (widow of Charles H. III), James, David, Susan, Kevin and his wife Mariangela, Chris and his wife Louise, Margi, Brian and his wife Diane, and Amanda will miss him greatly.  His grandchildren will also mourn his loss.  

Following in the steps of his father, who was a hurdler and a member of the U.S. track and field team in the 1924 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Charlie excelled in the hurdles.  Throughout his running career, Charlie never lost a 400-meter or 440-yard hurdle race.  While at Cornell, he won several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) titles.  In the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Charlie won a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles while setting the Olympic record in that event.  In the same Olympic Games, he ran the third leg of the 4x400-meter relay race for the American team, which won the silver medal.  His relay team broke the current world record by four seconds, while losing to the Jamaican team by a mere one-tenth of a second.  He finished second in the Sullivan Award balloting for top U.S. athlete in 1952 and was selected in 1996 as one of Xerox’s 100 “Golden Olympians.”  Later in life, Charlie served in several capacities on the U.S. Olympic Committee and also was a member of the President’s Council on Fitness and Sports.  In 1999, he was inducted into the U.S. National Track and Field Hall of Fame.  He was also an inaugural member of the Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame.

After returning from the Olympics, Charlie immediately went to work in his family’s business, Lenape Forge, in Lenape, PA.  From 1952 to 1994, Charlie held senior management positions at several companies: Lenape Forge, Lapp Insulator, Allied Thermal, Interpace Corporation, Clevepak Corporation, and Ransburg Corporation.  He also was managing director of Peers & Co. and vice chairman of Advisory Capital Partners, Inc.  

After more than four decades in the private sector, at the age of 65 Charlie was asked to return to his alma mater, Cornell, to serve as the university’s athletics director.  He would often say “that was the best job of my life!”  During his five-year tenure at Cornell, Charlie energetically led initiatives to expand women’s athletics programs, build new state-of-the-art athletic facilities, and increase alumni financial support across the board for athletics.

At age 70, he became the founding executive director of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP), a new non-profit organization headquartered in New York and created by Paul Newman, John Whitehead, and Peter Malkin.  Charlie worked in that capacity for 14 years.  Today, CECP members annually invest billions of dollars in their communities worldwide.   

Over the years, Charlie served on several for-profit and non-profit boards, including Mercersburg Academy Board of Regents, Indiana National Bank, Turner Corporation, Sports Authority, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Charlie and Judith moved to Laporte in 2013 and settled in “Edgemoor,” the retirement house they had built in 2006.  It is a wonderful place for their large family to gather frequently.  After retiring, Charlie published a memoir titled “Running on Purpose.”  He wrote a second book, “One Hurdle at a Time,” which was designed for young readers.  Charlie was an active member of the Eagles Mere-Laporte Lions Club and a faithful attendee of St. John’s In-The-Wilderness Episcopal Church in Eagles Mere.  In his final year of life, Charlie successfully advocated along with other residents for local broadband internet coverage and established opportunities for students and adults to participate in Emergency Medical Services in Sullivan County.

Charlie and Judith were passionate about experiencing the world and were fortunate to travel to all seven continents.  They were fascinated by the cultures and histories of other countries and gathered many new friends in their travels.  In addition, long after he had put away his running shoes, Charlie took his family to several of the Olympic Games.

Charlie Moore cared deeply about everyone in his full life -- and had the gift of making each one of them feel special.  A truly exuberant person, Charlie made friends wherever he went and will be missed by many.   

Charlie’s funeral will be held at St. John’s In-The-Wilderness on Friday, October 23, 2020, and will be private because of the current pandemic.  His ashes will be interred at Mountain Ash Cemetery in Laporte.  Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Homer Funeral Home, 206 Water Street, Dushore, PA.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to: Mercersburg Academy with attention to the Charles H. Moore Scholarship Fund, 100 Academy Drive, or to the Laporte Volunteer Fire Company, PO Box 31, Laporte, PA 18626, or the Eagles Mere-Laporte Lions Club, PO Box 261, Laporte, PA 18626.   Celebrations of Charlie’s life will be announced at a later date.        

                To send condolences or sign the e-guestbook, please go to homerfuneralhome.com.