As you know, our classmate, Mick Moore died died July 14, 2023 from pancreatic cancer.  This is the obituary he wanted all of us to see.

Sunset High School, Class of 1962.

B.A. (History) 1966, Stanford.

M.A. (History) 1969, University of California, Santa Barbara.

M. Arch (Architecture), 1972, Stanford.

Moore, an architect, graphics designer, and teacher, was born in the Midwest, spending a happy childhood in the northern suburbs of Chicago. However, in 1958 his father sold his business and moved the family to the Pacific northwest. Moore enrolled in Sunset High School its first year in autumn, 1958. It was a difficult transition for him, but he soon realized that he was attending an excellent public school with superior administrators, faculty, and students. His early passion in life was basketball. The freshman team in 1958-59 was strong, under the fine leadership of Coach Ed Ramsdell. Two unfortunate years followed in the Sunset basketball program. But that was fixed in 1961-62 when Coach John Whittenburg led the team to a winning record, featuring an undefeated run before leagueplay began. 

Moor had many favorites among Sunset faculty: Mr Atkinson in algebra and trigonometry, Ms Rautio in geometry, Mr Cavens in biology, and Mr Shinn in advanced math. These were all great teachers; in particular, his experience in geometry class would have a profound influence on his career in architecture. Moore was careful to follow a solid college-prep curriculum at Sunset. He was fortunate to be admitted to Stanford University, where he started his college education in the autumn of 1962. 

At Stanford, Mike Moore studied history as an undergrad then architecture as a grad student. He earned a freshman basketball letter in 1963 and lived in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house from 1963-66. After leaving Stanford, he became an apprentice architect in 1972; he became a registered architect in 1978. The most important part of his architectural training was working for Leonard Lincoln, AIA in Palo Alto from 1976-79. Mr Lincoln had an excellent practice specializing in custom residences. This was exactly what Moore wanted to do in his own career; he would go on to specialize in passive solar design. 

Moore married Karen Denyse Wade in 1982. They moved to Jacksonville, Oregon, intending to start a family and start an architectural practice. They had a child, daughter Courtney, in 1984. Tragedy struck in 1986, when Denyse died young, a breast cancer victim. At the time their daughter was only 18 months old. This changed everything in Moore's life. Instead of an architectural practice, he turned to architectural education, which allowed him more time to raise the child. He would never remarry. Moore went on to teach architecture/urban planning at schools all over the country. Two of his favorite teaching jobs were at the University of California, Irvine and the Savannah College of Art and Design. 

Mike Moore retired in 2007. A few years later he designed an all-solar house for his remaining retirement years. This was built in Oregon's Calapooia River Valley in 2017. He lived there until he died and he loved the solar house, even though his health declined significantly in his last years. 

Moore researched and wrote three manuscripts of historical fiction and two works of non-fiction, based on his teaching career in architecture/urban planning. None of this work has been published. He also designed some 50 solar houses, which have never been built. Posthumous publication/construction of this large body of creative work remains a possibility. He additionally left many paintings which are available to interested classmates--please contact his daughter Courtney if interested (courtneykmoore@gmail.com). 

Moore is survived by his daughter Courtney, his younger brother Timothy, and three nephews: Jonathon, Christopher, and Sean. Note: Moore had an older brother, Terry (now deceased) who graduated from Stanford in 1962.