Marlene S. Moore

Marlene S. Moore, of Blue Springs, MO, passed away on Tuesday, January 18,2022 at the age of 87. Arietta Marlene Sturm was born to Merle and Opal (Logan) Sturm in Teton County, Wyoming on September 1,1934. She grew up in Fairbury, Nebraska.

Marlene was proud but nonchalant about her own personal, professional and educational accomplishments; it being notable that she was the first person in her family of farmers to attend college and that she obtained her law degree while working full-time as a single mother of three. Marlene was a wonderful mother, grandmother and sister. She was proud and frequently bragged to friends about the professional and educational accomplishments of her three children, their passion for education and their accomplishments and children.

She was an avid piano player from a young age, being the go-to accompanist during her high school years, and continuing her musicality late in life, always loving pianos, organs, and hymns. She played the flute in her high school band. Marlene was adventurous and a life-long learner, with many scholastic achievements. In addition to being valedictorian of the Fairbury High School class of 1952, Marlene received her bachelors and masters degrees from Iowa State University in Home Economics, then after teaching 8th grade math and science in Jacksonville, Arkansas during the early 1970s, she became a home economist for the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. In that job she traveled around the state, teaching home economics (cooking, basic home finances, etc) primarily to young and underprivileged mothers in middle and southern Arkansas. She also appeared occasionally on late-night TV (the Little Rock Arkansas Public Broadcast Service) sharing recipes on an early live- broadcast equivalent of modern cooking shows, always practicing the recipes and her performance on her children.

While at the Cooperative Extension Service, Marlene attended law school at night at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, graduating in 1979. After a brief period of job searching, in 1980 Marlene relocated her family to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she served as Assistant General Counsel in the Arkansas Department of Human Services, handling child protective services and child support enforcement matters during her seventeen years with the Department.

She was an active bridge player from college into her 80s, and adopted new hobbies at middle age and beyond, including quilting, line dancing, and Spanish language courses. Starting in the 90s, Marlene fell in love with quilting and the social outlet that it provided. She enjoyed being an active member of the Kansas City Quilt Guild and the Belle Pointe Quilters Guild in Fort Smith. Her quilting friends were always very important to her, as were traveling to quilting retreats and workshops. Marlene enjoyed learning new quilting techniques and always put something unexpected in her quilt to reflect her artistic vision. She had one of her quilts purchased as part of a historical collection while she was in Fort Smith. Marlene learned line dancing after she retired and taught line dancing at Vesper Hall in Blue Springs. In addition, Marlene enjoyed bird watching and traveling out of the country on expeditions to experience new and exotic birds.

In 2007, Marlene and her brothers inherited three farms in Jefferson County, Nebraska including one that had been in the family for over 120 years. She managed the farm business for the family and loved being a farmer. Marlene was a life-long Christian Scientist. She most recently attended the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist on the Country Club Plaza. She was also very generous, regularly donating to the underprivileged, church and the politicians that supported her point of view.
Marlene is survived by her children Chrystal (John) Shields of Blue Springs, MO, Mark (Lynn) Moore of Hanahan, SC, and Matthew Moore of NY, NY; brothers Rex Sturm of Maryland and Mike (Cheryl) Sturm of Granger, Iowa; grandchildren Kelsey Shields of West Hills, CA, Quinn Shields of Raytown, MO and Chase Moore of Huntsville, AL. She is preceded in death by her dearly loved grandson Jackson Moore.

A memorial visitation will be held from 9-10am, Saturday, January 29th with a service following at 10am, both at Speaks Suburban Chapel in Independence, MO.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.speakschapel.com
(Arrangements: Speaks Suburban Chapel 816-373-3600)