Sheldon George Moore

Sheldon George Moore. Born Jan. 26, 1932, died March 31, 2024 following complications from a recent stroke.

Sheldon grew up on farmland just outside of Lodi, Calif. in Tokay Colony, the youngest child of seven and the only son of William and Ruth Moore. Perhaps the defining moment of Sheldon's life came when he was four years old in 1936, when William died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Many people could have used this experience to become embittered. Instead, it forged a lifetime of resolve, hard work and generosity in Sheldon.

With Ruth never remarrying, the family worked together to survive the Great Depression. From a young age, Sheldon worked to help support his family, figuring out at age nine how to wire an electric milking machine for its cows.

At Lodi High School, Sheldon played football and was active in Future Farmers of America, which he would later say taught him most of his farming skills. He then studied at Delta College and University of California, Davis where he met his wife, the former Nancy Danielson. As he was putting himself through school, Sheldon soon transferred to University of California, Berkeley so that he could be in Air Force ROTC.

Sheldon and Nancy married soon after his graduation from Berkeley in 1954, whereupon he served three years of active duty in the United States Air Force. His service to his country included flying strategic air command (SAC) missions on B-36's from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield.

While serving his country, Sheldon and Nancy's first two daughters, Carolyn and Diane were born. They had two more children, daughter Suzanne and son Daren, after Sheldon completed his service in 1957.

Upon completion of his military service, Sheldon began farming with a partner in Tracy, Calif. In the early 1960s, he started farming at Clifton Court. A decade after this, he added an almond orchard nearly an hour away in Newman, Calif. He commuted between both farms twice a day to ensure watering was done correctly. In time, Sheldon became a highly successful farmer, with family lore being that he did the work of three men.

All his life, Sheldon never really stopped working. After retiring from farming in the early 1990s, he and his family continued to rent out their land until the final years of his life. He also was a diligent and skilled investor who helped others learn how to invest in stocks into his final years.

In their years together, Sheldon and Nancy traveled extensively, visiting every state in the union and many countries and going on numerous cruises in their later years. They kept a condo and golfed at Las Hadas in Mexico, with family free to use the condo more or less anytime. They also treated their family to trips to Alaska, Walt Disney World and Europe at different points.

Sheldon is predeceased by his parents, six sisters, son Dr. Daren Moore, daughter-in-law Dr. Alba Moore and Nancy who died on their 69th wedding anniversary in August 2023. He is survived by daughters Carolyn (Brett) Marck of Seattle, Diane (Curtis) Zylka of Bodega Bay and Suzanne (Jesse) Womack of Sacramento, as well as 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Sheldon was an intelligent, bighearted and honorable man who made a difference in the lives of countless people around him. He was well-loved and will be missed.

A celebration of life for family will be held on June 8.