Terry Jack Moyer

Terry Jack Moyer died on September 5, 2009, at the age of 72, after 8 years of multiple health problems.
He was born on January 27, 1937, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the oldest of five children born to Hushul Ball Moyer and Verna Mary Metcalf Moyer.
In his early years, his family lived in Idaho and Carson City, Nevada, before settling in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. He learned the value of work while growing up on the family farm in Oregon City. He learned to play the tenor saxophone in his youth, and later wrote a novel (Crescendo, Horizon Publishers) chronicling the year the underdog Oregon City High School Concert Band "took State."
Terry was active in scouting, earning the prestigious Silver Explorer Award. He went the extra mile in all that he did, such as the time he nearly built "The Great Wall of China" for his Landscape Architecture Merit Badge. This story and many others have been published in LDS Church magazines and lesson manuals. A collection of most of these stories is found in his second book, "Have I Got a Story For You!" (Horizon Publishers).
He attended BYU before and after his 30 month LDS mission to the North German Mission (1957-1959). He graduated from BYU in August 1960, with a BS degree in History and Geography.
Terry joined the Oregon National Guard and later transferred to the California National Guard. He went to basic training in Fort Ord, California, where he made frequent visits to nearby San Leandro to see Donna Mae Schipper, who would later become his wife.
Terry and Donna were married in the Los Angeles Temple on June 30, 1961. He later received a Master's Degree in Education from USC in 1964 and began teaching History in the Watts area of Los Angeles.
They later built a home and settled in Simi Valley (Ventura Country), California, where Terry taught junior high and high school History and Geography. He was a favorite teacher to all, going on to become California's Teacher of the Year. He served as Bishop of the Santa Susanna First Ward from 1972-1975.
In 1975, he and Donna moved their family to Cottonwood Heights in Salt Lake City, Utah, after he was called to work for the LDS Church as a project developer for LDS Social Services. He served in this capacity for 15 years. He served an additional 10 years as a manager in the scripture translation department, overseeing the translation of the Book of Mormon into several new languages, including American Sign Language. This was a ten year project that paved the way for the deaf community to have access to the scriptures.
While he and Donna lived in Cottonwood Heights, he served in the Butler Stake Presidency for nine years. After his retirement in 1999, he and Donna built a retirement home and moved to Draper. He suffered a cerebral aneurysm in 2001 and has resided at the Draper Rehab Care Center since 2003.
Terry had many hobbies and outside interests, including genealogy, hiking and mountain climbing (bagging 47 state high points), traveling, writing, gardening, singing, and always teaching. He loved the theater, opera, symphony, barbershop, and pick 'n'grin Bluegrass music. He considered himself the original #1 L.A. Dodger Fan and loved watching BYU football, having played in the BYU Cougar Marching Band.
One of Terry's many hobbies was name extraction for LDS temple work. He became the National Director in a joint project between the LDS Church and the National Parks Service, as they worked together to computer index the names of all 5.5 million Civil War Soldiers and Sailors. This enormous project allows people visiting Civil War Battlefields to access their ancestor's war records.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Donna Mae Schipper Moyer, and his three children, Cynthia "Cyndie" Anne Moyer Manning, Vikki Vreni Moyer Jackson (Mike), and Adrian "Ace" Christopher Moyer (Angela). He is also survived by his four siblings, Lynn Errol Moyer, Alice Janine Moyer Gibson Knight, Karen Sue Moyer Dilg (Joe), Dennis Lee Moyer (Marida). He leaves behind 3 granddaughters, 5 grandsons, 2 great granddaughters, many cousins, nieces, nephews, and thousands of people that he called "friend."
Terry's family wishes to thank the many nurses and aides at Draper Rehab Care Center, who loved him and cared for him for nearly 6 years, as well as the caregivers from Love Hospice.
Viewings (and funeral) will be held at the Mountain Point Stake Center (575 East 13800 South, Draper, Utah) on Wednesday, (9-9-09) from 6-8pm, and Thursday (9-10-09) from 10:30-11:30 am. Funeral services will begin at Noon on Thursday, Sept 10, 2009 at the Stake Center.