Obituary: Moore, Victor W.
Pullman Washington Artist, Victor Wayne Moore, died November 14, 2013, Rancho Mirage CA.
Born to Ruby Vaughan Moore and Harley Moore in Wenatchee, WA.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Roberta Galbraith Moore and son, Mark Allan Moore and his wife Julie Anne Moore of San Pedro CA.
Victor and “Bobbie” met in Ephrata WA and were married later there in 1950.
My father Victor Moore, has touched the creative fabric of generation of students.
He was known and loved as the Art Teacher in Pullman by making his students have fun in school, he was a good mentor, and he made them see the world as Art.
During WW II, my father at 17 joined the Navy in 1944.
Later in 1951, he was recalled to serve in the Korean War.
He attended Central Washington University, earning his BA and BS degrees.
He taught all of the Art at an elementary school at Richland WA in 1952-53 and later received his MFA from Central in 1954.
They moved to Pullman WA in 1954.
Pullman School District hired Victor to teach Art in all of the schools.
As Pullman’s population grew he became the Art Teacher at the local High School.
He attended Washington State University and Received his Master of Fine Art.
His well-known landmark “Junk Castle” was his Thesis project.
That was featured in many International Publications.
He retired in 1979 from Teaching Art at Pullman High School to do his Art full time living and creating Art.
He created a series of politically charged whirligigs, many commissioned to the Washington State Arts Commission.
He loved and embraced the North West Indians, starting with the belonging to a local Archeology group creating many Indian inspired pieces:, he gave himself the Indian Artist Name “Two-Lane-Road-Ahead”.
Victor also had a love for Found Art and “Native” Art, creating a large body of his version of “Naive” art works.
Vic and Bobbie moved to Kennewick WA in 1998.
Victor taught at Columbia Basin College where he had several shows of his work.
At this time he worked with Bobbie on Environmental issues such as Saving the Salmon and cleaning up Hanford pollution.
They moved to Cathedral City, CA, next to the Palm Spring area in 2002.
He has had many Gallery expositions throughout the states of Washington and California, and the World.
My father authored a book “Stories from the Methow” http://www.blurb.com/b/1421496-stories-from-the-methow This was a book recalling his growing-up in the Methow, a town in the heart of the Washington’s Apple country during the Depression.
Victor had a love for Sculpture, He and his wife Built two Homes in Pullman, WA, that were Sculptural and living space.
As early as the mid-Fifties, Moore and his wife built both homes from recycled or discarded materials.
He was way ahead of the “Green” Movement.
Moore loved the challenge, creating one home from Rail Road Ties, to the other home carved out of a rock quarry, built with salvaged Grain elevator timbers.
The Family is planning a memorial in Pullman next year.