Danny Roy Moore
| Danny Roy Moore | |
 | |
Louisiana State Senator for
Claiborne and Bienville parishes | |
| In office 1964–1968 | |
| Preceded by | James Thomas McCalman |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Charles C. Barham |
| Born | August 9, 1925 Haynesville, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | between August 2020 and April 2021 (aged 95)[1] United States of America |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Patricia Camp Moore (married, 1952-1976, divorced) (2) Susan Butler Moore (died 2006) |
| Children | From first marriage:
Danette Moore |
| Residence | (1) Homer, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana (2) Arcadia, Bienville Parish, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Homer (Louisiana) High School |
| Occupation | Civil engineer Land surveyor |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Corps |
| Battles/wars | Flew missions over Germany in World War II |
Danny Roy Moore (August 9, 1925; deceased c. 2020) was a civil engineer and land surveyor from Arcadia in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Conservative Democrat in the state Senate for a single term from 1964 until 1968. He represented a north Louisiana district, then unnumbered, encompassing Claiborne and Bienville parishes.[2]
Background
Moore was born in Haynesville in northern Claiborne Parish just south of the Arkansas state line to Arthur Roy Moore (1904–1984), a Mississippi native known as Roy Moore, and the former Capitola Touchstone (1903–2002) Roy Moore managed the Jitney Jungle grocery outlet in Homer, a since defunct chain store that originated in 1919 in Jackson, Mississippi. Moore began school in Haynesville, but his family relocated to Homer, where in 1942 he graduated from Homer High School. Capitola Moore was a sister of Sam F. Touchstone (1904–2002), who owned a taxidermy and wildlife museum in Haughton in southern Bossier Parish. Moore was hence a first cousin of Ned Touchstone, an advocacy newspaper publisher and a visible figure among what was called the "Radical Right" in Louisiana during the 1960s. In 1967, Touchstone unsuccessfully challenged the reelection of Louisiana Education Superintendent Bill Dodd. Arthur and Capitola Moore are interred at Arlington Cemetery in Homer, the seat of Claiborne Parish.[3]
During World War II, Moore served in the United States Army Air Corps, forerunner of the Air Force. He flew B-24 missions over Germany.[4] Moore was a Southern Baptist and a Mason.[5]
Moore first attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston before he transferred to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where in 1949, he received the Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, with emphasis also in land surveying.[4] At the age of eighty-five, he was still heavily engaged in surveying.[3]
Moore was twice married. He and the former Patricia Camp (born 1930) had two children, Danette Moore (born 1954) of Shreveport and Daniel Judson "Judd" Moore (1956-2021), who was a dentist for thirty-four years in Minden in Webster Parish before moving to Bossier City. The couple married in 1952 and divorced in 1976. Thereafter, Moore wed the former Susan Elizabeth Butler (1945–2006), whose father managed the Jitney Jungle store in Arcadia.[3]
Senate service
At the time of his Senate election and service, Moore still resided in Homer. In the 1963-1964 primary election cycle, Moore unseated his fellow Democrat, James T. McCalman, also of Homer. He served a single term until 1968. He neither sought reelection nor ran for any other public office before or since his Senate term. Moore's principal emphasis as a senator was to promote the construction of Lake Claiborne, a 6,400-acre man-made body of water near Homer established by the damming of Bayou D'Arbonne.[6] The lake is deeper than others of its kind, has a short spillway, and is hence subject to less pollution than most other waterways. To obtain the needed state funding for the project, Moore and state Representative John Sidney Garrett had to overcome the initial opposition of newly elected Governor John J. McKeithen, who disbelieved that man-made lakes contribute to economic growth. Lake Claiborne State Parks, known for swimming, fishing, birding, boating, waterskiing, camping, and hiking, opened at the site of the new lake.[7][4]
From 1948 to 1960, Moore's seat was held by William Rainach of Summerfield in Claiborne Parish, who was an unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in 1959. Rainach was defeated by Jimmie Davis, originally from Jackson Parish, who secured his second nonconsecutive term as governor in that election cycle. After legislative boundaries were altered in 1967 by the federal judiciary, Moore was succeeded in the Senate by Charles C. Barham, an attorney from Ruston and one of two sons of former Lieutenant Governor C. E. "Cap" Barham. Charles Barham was first elected in the adjoining district to the east in 1964, and he and Moore were colleagues and friends though they often cast opposite votes in Senate roll calls.[2][3]
In the Senate, Moore's desk was coincidentally located at the extreme right side of the chamber in line, he said, with his strongly held conservative political views. His colleague and seat mate was neighboring Senator Harold Montgomery of Doyline (pronounced DOY LEAN) in Webster Parish. The two became friendly with freshman Senator Edwin Edwards of Crowley in Acadia Parish in south Louisiana near Lafayette, but within two years, Edwards had left the state Senate to take a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Despite their friendship, Moore and Montgomery often cast their votes opposite that of Edwards, who was thereafter elected in 1972 to the first of his four nonconsecutive terms as governor.[3]
Moore apparently died between August 2020, after celebrating his 95th birthday and April 2021. His son's obituary (April 2021) indicates that is father is deceased. No other details are available.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dr. Judd Moore obituary, Minden Press-Herald (press-herald.com), accessed April 9, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Membership of the Louisiana State Senate from 1880 to 2024. Louisiana State Senate. Retrieved on April 9, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Billy Hathorn, Interview with Danny Roy Moore, January 5, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Glynn Harris, "Remembering the birth of Lake Claiborne, the Minden Press-Herald (press-herald.com), August 30, 2016.
- ↑ Fred Volentine obituary. The Shreveport Times (January 2, 2011). Retrieved on January 2, 2011.
- ↑ Gerry May, "Danny Roy Moore served country, community at war and in government," KTBS-TV, August 19, 2016.
- ↑ Lake Claiborne State Park. crt.state.la.us. Retrieved on January 6, 2011.
