Oscar Moser, Jr.'s Obituary
Oscar was born in Memphis and lived most of his life in the area. He graduated from Millington Central high school and, after serving stateside in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, attended and graduated from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, where he majored in Chemical Engineering. He was a lifelong Vols fan and kept in regular touch with his dormmates from Neyland Stadium for many years, talking on the phone, meeting up for football games, and exchanging correspondence. Along with his brother-in-law, John, he worked as an engineer for Ellers, Oakley, Chester, and Rike for many years.
After retirement, he enjoyed travel with Ann, his wife of more than 60 years. Alaska, Canada, Europe, Western national parks, and Kentucky horse country with a side trip to see the Cincinnati Reds play baseball, were some of their favorite destinations.
Kids Tom (Deanna) Moser and Bridget (Matt) Clark remember family trips to the beach, professional baseball team destinations, Washington, DC, for the bicentennial, and the northeast, where they first discovered what was to become part of the Moser family lore - the hunt for the perfect Black Forest cake recipe, which has been made and enjoyed by the whole family many times throughout the years. Perhaps more than anything, he loved spending time with family and close friends (or talking with them so long on the phone that Ann had to pull him away). Oscar loved his three grandsons - Hayden, Brendan, and Grayson, and was always interested in their activities. After losing Ann last year, he embarked on his last adventure in moving to Texas to be closer to Tom and family. Although he tried gallantly to adjust, and had a wonderful Christmas with them, life without Ann was a struggle, and his worsening health didn’t help. He leaves behind extended family on Ann’s side, who more or less adopted him, especially when his own parents passed away. He also valued visits to and from his cousins from the other side of the pond, and along with Ann, stayed in contact with them over the years.
His interests included baseball and University of Tennessee Volunteers sports - cue Pride of the Southland Marching Band … do you hear the first few stanzas of Rocky Top? He was a true clothes horse with a strong sense of style and many, many pieces of orange clothing he wore to show the true Volunteer he was. His eclectic and evolving taste in music included everything from mid-century pop to classic country music, Broadway show recordings, and instrumentalists. Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman also featured in his collection of albums, tapes, and CDs. He and Ann enjoyed attending live music performances, Minor and Major League Baseball games (go Chicks and Redbirds!), live theatre in New York (when he could) and countless Broadway shows in Memphis.
Any discussion about Oscar would not be complete without mentioning his great appreciation for a wide variety of types of food. While he loved Ann’s cooking (cannelloni, coconut cake, or German chocolate cake anyone?), he took every opportunity both in town and when travelling, to explore various types of cuisine - Cajun, German, Italian, French, Jewish delicatessens, Greek, and of course Memphis barbecue are just a few that come to mind.
We will miss Oscar’s stories, his warmth and grace, and his love. He and Ann left some pretty big shoes to fill.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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Share a story where Oscar's kindness touched your heart.
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