Waddy William Moore III
January 29, 1928 – June 15, 2019
Waddy William Moore III, of Conway passed away on the morning of June 15, 2019 at the age of ninety-one years and six months. He was the only son of Waddy William Moore, Jr. and Floretta Elizabeth Williams Moore, both deceased.
He is survived by Gay, his wife of almost sixty-six years, their two daughters, Bonnie Moore McNeely (Dennis) of Roswell, GA and Elizabeth Moore Peatross (Kenneth) of Little Rock, AR, and five grandchildren, William Charles McNeely, Elizabeth McNeely, Lucy Moore, Rachel Peatross and Shea Peatross.
Waddy graduated from Helena High School in 1946 and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps (Air Force) serving from 1946 to 1949. He was discharged as a Staff Sargent and that year enrolled in the University of Arkansas where he earned a Bachelor of Science in education in 1953 and a Master of Arts in history in 1955.
He earned a doctorate in American history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1963. He taught at Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN, the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Louisiana State College in Lafayette before becoming a professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas and director of the Ozark Heritage Institute. He published two books about Arkansas history and served as president of the Faulkner County Historical Society and the Arkansas Historical Society.
He was a charter member of the American Oral History Association and served as president in 1977. In 1999, he was honored as Distinguished Professor Emeritus by UCA.
He retired from UCA in 1993 and devoted his days to the golf course until felled by a stroke in 1996. He never stopped telling stories and jokes. He was a fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks, UCA Bears, UNC Tarheels, the Braves and the Cubs, and—for four years—a Hendrix Lady Warriors soccer fan. A crossword enthusiast, Big Band music lover, fan of the original King Kong and devoted member of the Conway Poker Club, he enjoyed a truly wonderful life.
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Conway for fifty-four years, and his memorial service will be held in the church’s Chapel on June 19 at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Faulkner County Historical Society, Habitat for Humanity or First United Methodist Church, Conway, AR.