Robert Moody

Robert Lewis Moody died peacefully at home on January 8, 2025, while his children kept vigil. 

R.L. Moody was born November 25, 1934, in Jackson County, North Carolina, to Lillian (Robinson) and Tillmon Moody. He was the third son of twelve children. Growing up on a hardscrabble farm in the Appalachian Mountains during the Great Depression helped R.L. develop a tenacious spirit that served (or plagued) him his entire life. After losing his father in an accident in 1951, R.L. eventually moved to Florida and enlisted in the Florida Army National Guard and, soon after, in the recently formed U.S. Air Force. Once on active duty, one of the first things R.L. did was start an allotment from his meager pay to help support his widowed mother. 

Basic training in Texas forced R.L. to change his name. Tired of performing seemingly endless pushups for honestly answering the numerous orders of "State your last name, first name, and middle initial." with "Moody, R.L.," he legally changed his name to Robert Lewis. He quickly took to his new name and preferred the nickname Bob. 

Bob met his wife, Dorothy Barnes, of Boise, Idaho, after he reported to his first duty station at Mountain Home Air Force Base. A true mountain man, he wondered how Mountain Home got its name. He traveled to Boise to see Dorothy as often as he could and frequently risked being A.W.O.L. After a short courtship, he and Dorothy married in Elko, Nevada, in 1957. They divorced after 24 years of marriage. 

When Bob decided to make the Air Force his career, he worked as an aircraft mechanic on B-47 and B-52 bombers and fighter jets at various bases in the country. His children faintly remember the time he disappeared for a couple of weeks after being alerted during the Cuban Missle Crisis of 1962. As crew chief of a B-52 bomber, he once flew non-stop around the world on a training mission. Temporary duty in places such as Guam, Alaska, and Thailand took him away from his family. 

After retiring from the Air Force in 1974, he moved to Dorothy's home state of Idaho, settling in Filer. When he learned that his brother-in-law Lee Barnes planned to sell his denture lab in Twin Falls, Bob took it off Lee's hands, moved it to a piece of scrubland in Filer, fixed it up, and planted lots of trees and grass, making it his home for decades. It was an oasis where his family met for many family gatherings, special occasions, and hard-fought softball games. Many friends or family members honked when they spotted Bob working in his yard or garden as they drove by. 

In retirement, Bob was an avid golfer. The Clear Lakes Country Club was his home away from home. Although he was an excellent golfer, he wasn't always the most calm or patient. Once in a while, he had to replace a club that made its way into the water hazard. He did manage to achieve two holes-in-one during his golfing career. Because he loved the game, he played longer than he should have given his bad back. 

Bob liked to drive and travel, especially in his red '66 Ford Mustang. He took it to the Clear Lakes golf course and traveled across the country to golf and visit his family in North Carolina. 

His children survive Bob: Ron (Teri) Moody, Ryan (Debbie) Moody, Cheryl (Mark) Urie, Randy (Teresa) Moody, and 12 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Two sisters, Henrietta and Linda, and his brother, James, survive him in North Carolina. 

He will be buried at the Snake River National Cemetery during a private ceremony at a later date. Instead of flowers, please donate to Bob's favorite charities, the Shriners and the Special Olympics.