Henry F. Moss

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Henry Franklin Moss, 84, of Rockfield died at 7:31 p.m. June 20, 2005, at Greenview Regional Hospital.

The Bethpage, Tenn., native was a member of Rockfield United Methodist Church, where he was a Sunday school teacher, chairman of the board, choir member and lay speaker of Dietrich. He was a member of Faith United Methodist Church in Bowling Green.

He served in World War II in the 526th Ordinance of the Heavy Maintenance Tank Company of the First Armys Fifth Corps, serving from 1942-45. In December 1945, he was part of the Normandy D-Day invasion and was wounded in Belgium. He was honorably discharged in 1945. His honors include EAME Theater Ribbon with five Bronze Stars, Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart and Victory Medal. He fought in Normandy, northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland and central Europe.

He received his bachelors degree and master of science in education from the University of Kentucky and began a graduate internship toward a doctorate in horticulture at Rutgers University in New Jersey that was interrupted He was elected to the Warren County Board of Education in 1972. As a teacher nearly two decades earlier, he had often been painfully aware of the lack of resources, equipment and unmet building needs throughout the district. Through his 20 years on the board, Moss worked diligently to improve pay scales and benefits for all school employees. He served as vice chairman for four years and chairman for 10. His quest was to bring every classroom up to standard. During his tenure, 15 of the 16 schools of the district have either been built from the ground up or have had major renovations, adding more than 150 classrooms to the district. One middle school he established, the Henry F. Moss Middle School, was named for him and his efforts toward education in the community. Mr. Moss supported the Kentucky Education Reform Act through providing proper resources and commitment for many educational programs. Many KERA-like programs were in place in Warren County long before the state reform. The Kentucky Congress of Parents and Teachers awarded Mr. Moss the Warren H. Proudfoot Award for the outstanding school board member of the year in February 1994. He was the Kentucky State School Board Third Region president. Upon leaving the board, he stated, My terms of service as a board member have come to an end, but my dedication to the schools of the district and my service to the community will continue throughout the rest of my life. Until his death, he called principals and educators weekly to encourage them.

He was a Kentucky Colonel, a Gideon and a lifetime member of the Masonic Lodge No. 73, F&AM, and Eastern Star. He was a lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1298 and was on the original Board of Directors of the Browning Volunteer Fire Department.

In 1994, he attended the 50th anniversary of D-Day event in France, where his name and rank are inscribed on the Wall of Liberty memorial the Battle of Normandy Foundation erected on the Boulevard Perpherique in the French city of Caen. At that time, he received a medal from the French city of Caen. At this time, he received a medal from the French government for his role in the Normandy liberation in 1944.

He was a son of the late Ulysses Duke and Ruth Galloway Moss.

Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hillvue Heights Church. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at Faith United Methodist Church and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at Johnson-Vaughn-Phelps Funeral Home. From 7 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Thursday, there will be a Masonic service open to the public. Visitation will continue from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the charity of the donors choice or Henry F. Moss Scholarship, College Heights Foundation, Western Kentucky University, 1 Big Red Way, Bowling Green, KY 42101.

Survivors include his wife of 551/2 years, Geneva Marie London Moss; a sister, Ruth Ellen Miller and her husband, Hoyt; three sons, Edward Moss and his wife, Sandra, Edwin Moss and his wife, Mary, and William Moss and his wife, Sharon; two daughters, Virginia Wilson and her husband, Ed, and Elizabeth Ayers and her husband, Steve; and 15 grandchildren.

 Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700