HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. – Claire (Malcolm) Moore passed away at home in Hacienda Heights, Calif. on March 17, 2023, surrounded by loving family. She was 91. Claire’s choice of Saint Patrick’s Day as the date to leave this world would have, undoubtedly, pleased both her and her Irish grandfather.

Claire was born to Harriet Desmond and James Malcolm on July 1, 1931 in Gardiner. Her childhood was marred by the early loss of several relatives, starting with her father who died when Claire was 6 months old. Her mother supported them during the Depression by operating a lunch counter across from the Gardiner train depot. Claire graduated from Gardiner High School in 1948 and went on to earn her B.A. in English from the University of Maine in 1952 and her M.A. in English from Boston University in 1954.

Claire married the late John Cotton Brown in 1955 and moved with him to Cornell College in Iowa where she taught English while caring for twins. After her husband’s untimely death in 1959, Claire moved with the twins back to her hometown in Maine and then to Massachusetts where she taught high school English.

In 1963, Claire and her twins moved to Oakland, Calif. where she married James H. Moore, a widower with six children. Two years later, their youngest child was born. Claire and Jim ultimately settled in Palo Alto, Calif. where they lived together for over 50 years. During the early years of her second marriage, Claire kept busy raising her

and Jim’s large combined family. In later years, she occupied herself with her many grandchildren and with volunteer work. She particularly enjoyed her years of volunteering at the Saint Anthony de Padua dining room in Menlo Park which served meals to needy adults and families.

After Jim retired, he and Claire built a second home surrounded by redwood trees in Sonoma County where they enjoyed hosting family and friends, particularly their grandchildren. She was very fond of dogs, baby goats and other animals.

Claire was preceded in death by her husband, Jim.

She is survived by her children and stepchildren James Moore, William Moore, Thomas Moore, Patrick Moore, Evelyn Hurley, John C. Moore, Andrea Brown Dunne, John Brown and Ellen Moore; as well as numerous grandchildren; and great-grandchildren. She was deeply loved and will be missed.

A mass was held on Saturday, April 22 at 3 p.m. at St. Martha’s Catholic Church in La Puente, Calif., followed at 4:30 p.m. by a gathering of family and friends to celebrate Claire Moore’s life.

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