Josephine Bonfatto Moore

Jo Moore passed away peacefully on July 6^th, 2017, at Patriot’s Colony Convalescent Center in Williamsburg, Virginia, as a result of complications from several falls.  She was 88.

Mrs. Moore established a career in business, serving as an executive secretary for Northrop Grumman, legal secretary for several firms, and several other positions in a distinguished life in the business world.  Her bubbly personality caused her to be loved by all she met, and her faith was the cornerstone of her life.  She moved to Williamsburg, VA in 2015, after living in Cary, NC, for 35 years.

Mrs. Moore was happily married to Colonel Clarence Hart Moore, USMC, who died in 2000.  After their wedding, in 1977, Colonel and Mrs. Moore traveled extensively while making homes in Vienna, VA, and Cary.    She continued to work part time as a legal secretary during her marriage, was an active volunteer in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, and was a member of several churches over the years in the same area.  In Williamsburg, she attended the Williamsburg Community Chapel and St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church.  One of Mrs. Moore’s greatest achievements, and typical of her organization and compassion, was seeing her husband through a lengthy and complicated illness before his death.

Josephine Bonfatto Moore was born August 23, 1928, in Bellefonte, PA.  Her parents, Guy and Pauline Bonfatto, were first-generation Italian immigrants who were initially in the produce business and then became restaurateurs — founding Bonfatto’s, in Bellefonte, which is still in business today, run by a nephew of Mrs. Moore.  She graduated from high school and business school in Pennsylvania, worked there for some years before moving to San Jose, California.  Subsequently, Mrs. Moore relocated to the Washington, DC, area, where she met Colonel Moore. While the couple had no children, Col. Moore had three children with his first wife who died prior to his marriage to Mrs. Moore. She remained very close to those three and their families for the remainder of her life.

Mrs. Moore’s survivors include a brother, John Bonfatto, and three sisters, Mary Bonfatto, Annette Callahan, and Rose Letterman, all of the Bellefonte–State College area of Pennsylvania.  Rose is married to Elmer Letterman, and together they have three children and several grandchildren.  Another brother, Francis Bonfatto, died earlier this year. The three children and families from Col Moore’s previous marriage are Janet Moore Estes of Williamsburg, her husband, Richard, their two married children, Bryan and Suzanne, and two grandchildren; Douglas Eugene Moore of Williamsburg, and his wife Jeane, their two children, Kristen (married) and Joel, and one grandchild; and Brian Robert Moore of Burlington, Vermont, his wife Caren, and their two children, Stephen (married) and Matthew.

A memorial service for Jo Moore will be held at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Williamsburg at 3 PM on Sunday, July 16th. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Jo Moore’s name to the charity of your choice.