John Irving Moose

John Irving Moose, M.D., age 79, died March 20, 2017, at the Siloam Springs Nursing and Rehab from complications of Parkinson's Disease. He was born on April 15, 1937 at Little Rock to Charles Reid Moose, Sr. and May Hope McClurkin Moose – the third of six children. He was raised at Morrilton, Ark. and finished high school there before entering Hendrix College and receiving his pre-med degree. There he met Joallen Logan and they married at the Hendrix Greene Chapel a week after their graduation on June 7, 1959. John earned his medical degree from UAMC in Little Rock and interned at Baptist Hospital there. Now with one child, Dr. Moose and Joallen moved to Orlando, Fla. where he served as a captain for two years in the Air Force at the base hospital. A second child was born there. The next move was to Siloam Springs in 1966 where he joined the Siloam Springs Medical Center and had a busy general practice and delivered hundreds of babies. The couple's third child was born in Siloam in 1969. He remained at the clinic until 1995, and then practiced part-time at the First Care Family Doctors Clinic in Prairie Grove until full retirement in 2002. His medical skills were put to good use on several medical trips to Haiti, El Salvador and Mexico. Professionally, John was a member of the Amer. Assn. of Family Practitioners, the Southern Medical Society, the American Med. Society and continuing after retirement, the Ark. Medical Society. John committed his life in faith to Jesus Christ as a young boy, and grew in that faith through active service in the Methodists churches where he lived, including the last 51 years at the First United Methodist Church in Siloam Springs. He enjoyed many years of Bible study in their home groups, Disciple Bible Studies and the Men's Bible Class. He also sang in the choir and served on many committees. The couple went on many Lay Witness Mission teams to other churches in the 60s and 70's. John had a special love for John Brown University and served as a trustee from 1985-1998. He was a board member for the Genesis House, a faithful Rotarian for 50 years and a Paul Harris Fellow. He and Joallen delivered Meals on Wheels for several years on behalf of the Rotary Club. He was a major blood donor, contributing his O negative blood regularly from med school days to this last year. He was a man of many hobbies and interests and had a strong work ethic. Collecting began at a young age with stamps and coins, but rock-hounding trips, collecting, cutting and polishing became the major love. He was an active member of the NWA Gem and Mineral Society and was awarded a lifetime membership. The JBU pool afforded him years of regular lap swims until the last year of his life. He received great joy from yard work and raising beautiful flowers, having inherited the green thumbs of his mom and grandmother May Cazort McClurkin. A special highlight of his late teens and early 20's were the summers he spent working at Winrock Farms on Petit Jean Mtn. at the grass farm and life-guarding. He especially loved getting to know Winthrop Rockefeller and his family. John worked with stained glass art for several years under the expert supervision of Bea Stebbins. After years of medical charts and journals, he became an enthusiastic reader and devoured the books of favorite writers John Grisham, Louis L'amour and Richard Paul Evans, et al. He also loved to travel and was privileged to go to several foreign countries and all the states, as well as float the Buffalo River with the menfolk each year. John was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Robert Lewis Moose. He is survived by his wife Joallen of 57 years, three children and their spouses, John Allen Moose (Lisa Darden) of Van Buren, Allison Lynn Hilliard (Wes) of Van Buren, and Gwen Hope Moore (Marcus) of Siloam Springs; four grandchildren, Daniel Paul Moose of Springdale, Michael Allen Moose of Little Rock, Lindsay Allison Staggs (Joshua) of Fayetteville, and Elizabeth Ellen "Libby" Hilliard of Arkadelphia, Ark.; two step-grandchildren, Richard Darden and Shelby Darden. He is also survived by three brothers, Charles Reid Moose Jr. (Lisa) of Parkville, Md, Dr. William Cazort Moose (Diane) of Deer Park, Texas, Rev. David Nelson Moose (Judy) of Louisville, Ky., and a sister, Kathryn Elizabeth Kordsmeier of Morrilton, Ark.; seven nephews and their families, five nieces and their families plus many cousins and friends. Memorial service is Friday, March 24th, at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Siloam Springs, Rev. Wesley Hilliard and Dr. Randy Rowlan officiating. Private family internment will be earlier at the Oak Hill Cemetery, arrangements by Wasson Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to FUMC Siloam Springs, 325 E. Twin Springs St., Siloam Springs, Ark. 72761, or any other worthy cause.