This memorial website was created in memory of our father, Bob Moyer, 84, born on December 21, 1932 and passed away on December 23, 2016. Dad lived a full life and touched so many. He will be missed and remembered.
Tributes
Leave a tributeIt’s strange that the last evening I had with my dad, his birthday last Dec 21st, feels so significant though he passed away the following evening.
The miracle that we, the family without my mom, had all flown in the night before. None of the usual snowstorms stranded us and we actually all met in Newark coming in from CA, CO and London. The rest of the family was staying in Newark to drive up together. I had a connection to Albany and a car rented. I spoke to dad as I left the airport and I asked if he wanted me to come to his apt. He had a bit of a cold and told me to go ahead to Cooperstown and pick him up the next morning.
I ordered a full late-Thanksgiving, birthday, Christmas dinner for us all to celebrate on the 21st and spent the evening decorating the condo and hanging lights on the Christmas tree a friend had so nicely chosen and delivered. All of mom’s many Christmas ornaments and decorations that had been stored were out. Pictures replaced and holiday hand towels out. We would decorate the tree with the nephews all together on Dad’s birthday.
The memories of that day and the following morning are still fresh. All of us together with Christmas music and the lovely tree. Birthday dinner, early evening, and snow at night. The boys and I played for hours in the snow by the lake and came back in time for dad to have lunch and a nap before a simple dr apt which led to his being admitted to the hospital and passing that night.
All year I find myself wanting to facetime dad around 4pm when he is having his cocktail and we can talk. I listen to business podcast and remember dad sharing his business books on tape that came monthly with me and discussing them. Having spent Thanksgiving with my nephews, mom and dad’s only grandchildren, I am so sad that they can never really know how amazing their grandparents were.
Happy Birthday Dad, I know you are celebrating with mom over a cocktail, shrimp and a romantic candle
WISHING YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS IN HEAVEN.
LOVE YOU & MISS YOU!
I first met your dad on a beautiful October day in 1984. Following several phone calls with Ben, I had been invited to Oneonta to interview for a position that would lead to management for trust services at Wilber. Ben was waiting for me at Oneonta airport -- identified for me by my pilot Steve Low, who I had come to know on the flight as a director for WIlber and owner of Catskill Air. Ben, "Mr. Moyer" and I spent the next several hours in the company station-wagon touring branches throughout Otsego County and lunching in Cooperstown across from the Baseball Hall of Fame! Of course, your dad did the driving with Ben in front and this kid from Cleveland in the back seat. Well, things worked out as I got invited to join the bank's management team and for the next 30+ years I was blessed with the wisdom, and friendship of so many fine community bankers all leading from the fountain of knowledge that was your father. He could be tough as nails in a Monday morning team meeting, but should you be the subject of his ire, before the day was through he was coaching and cajoling you in a private meet that would always include questions about my girls and concern for our integration into the greater Oneonta community.
Mimicking Ben's comments, your dad did create an environment where we could advance professionally and still be as involved with our families as we desired. I shall always remember your folks fondly.
I am sorry I will be unable to attend the memorial service for Bob in July. I am in Florida having recently undergone surgery and will be here through most of July.
I want each of you to know how much I admired your father's work ethic, intelligence, and values. He was justly proud of each of you and so much looking forward to having his whole family together.
He was my boss and friend for almost 40 years and I owe my career accomplishments in large part to him. He taught me well and for the most part had patience with me.
My wife Kathy and I shared many happy times with your Mom and Dad on Bank trips, community events, and other social outings.
Their mark on Oneonta will not soon be forgotten many institutions and even more individuals have and will continue to benefit from their compassion and generosity.
All the best to each of you, God Bless you and your Family.
Fred Whittet
My heartfelt sympathies go out to Terry, Kathy, Scott and family for their loss of both Bob and Joan...two great parents that raised three wonderful children, and that gave so much in many ways to the Oneonta Community! They were both legends in their own way that we will never forget them!
Sincerely, Joyce &Jim Broe
Gail Cleveland Hess
Through the years, despite the geographic distance which separated us, Alan and I had the pleasure of being with Bob and Joan several times, including the wedding of Scott and Ginny in 2002, and the baptisms of our mutual grandsons, Matthew and Luke, in 2006 and 2008. In the year 2012, Alan and I took Bob and Joan up on their invitation to visit them in New York, and we spent a most wonderful three days with them in Cooperstown. Bob and Joan were the perfect hosts, making certain we saw and experienced all that Cooperstown and the area had to offer. But what I remember most about that visit are the conversations the four of us enjoyed. We covered every topic imaginable, thoroughly enjoying the fun, camaraderie, and the graciousness of Bob and Joan.
My mother had the following anonymous quote in her kitchen for many years, and I think it applies perfectly to the life Bob lived.
"When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart – not the head."
Rest in peace, Bob. I am very happy we were, and still are, family.
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Eulogy: An Incredible Life of Service
I was blessed to be able to deliver a eulogy for my dad at his Funeral Mass on July 8, 2017 in Oneonta, NY. I wanted to post it here to make it part of this ongoing tribute. I'll make a few modifications to change references specific to that day. I'll also include the Gospel reading we used since I reference it.
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Gospel: John 17:24-26
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: "Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them."
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Life of Service
I think it is fair to say that my dad led a full life. In trying to approach this eulogy, it became clear to me that no brief talk can capture the essence of my dad and his accomplishments. How does one do justice to a man who happily drove the family’s wood-paneled station wagon to Florida, and expertly navigated an LC-130 Ski Bird to the Greenland icecap. Who gently held my infant sons in his arms, and skillfully guided Wilber Bank for 25 years. Who sat on both the St. Mary’s finance council and the NY Federal Reserve.
My wife, always the English teacher, advised me using the words of Ernest Hemingway: “All you have to do is write one true sentence.” One true sentence about my dad: My dad lived an incredible life of service.
We know it to be true because we were the beneficiaries. We know it to be true because he left this world, this community, our lives better than he found it. He gave of his time and talents and treasure without counting the cost, and without asking “What do I get out of this?”
The line from the Gospel that struck me the most as I thought about my dad is when Jesus says to his father, “they are your gift to me.” It resonated with me because I believe that my dad lived his life this way. He saw the gift in our family. He saw the gift in the people he worked with at the bank, on the many boards and foundations and councils and clubs. He saw the gift in this community of Oneonta. He saw the gift in your friendship. If people around you are a gift, then the talents you have been given and the successes you have achieved are not yours, they are simply the tools you have to serve others. These last few months since he died have been a good opportunity for me to reflect on the talents dad shared so freely.
Man of Ideas
The first thing that jumped to mind is that dad was a man of ideas. He spent many of his waking hours solving problems, and not small problems either. Problems that would allow the bank to move forward for customers. Problems the community of Oneonta was facing. Huge problems that made national news. He’d wake up at 5 in the morning and immediately start solving problems. Steve Malavec, his long time friend and Chief Technology Officer, once joked with me that we needed to to find a way to get dad to sleep in. Steve would get to work and my father would have a host of new ideas to discuss with him. He was intensely curious about technology, business, culture. And everything found its way into his ideas.
Navigator
Ideas alone can can be fleeting, but my dad was also at his core a Navigator. A talent he honed through his 22 years serving as navigator in the Air Force and National Guard. He learn to plot a course, to take into account weather, and to get his crew safely to their destination. He offered this talent to the bank and the community, expertly guiding them through the changing landscapes of technology and economy. He was not only able to have the idea, but also able to chart a path to making that idea concrete, impactful, and life changing. He was a navigator in every aspect of his life.Every time I’d head off to a new place, I’d mention it to my dad, and he could tell me three different paths to take and the merits of each route. We’d go away as family to a weekend swim meet as kids. Arriving to a list of events, but no idea of when our event would start. My dad go to work calculating event times and estimating time between events. In a few short minutes, he could tell every swimmer on the team what time their event would start, so they knew how much time they had to rest, and when to start warming up.
Community
At the center of my dad’s vision of the world was an intense understanding of community. I’ve never known a more community oriented person in my life. He understood the importance of the bank for the life of the community. He helped with the hospital, colleges, small businesses, service organizations, and community development organizations to make Oneonta a vibrant place to live This was perhaps made most concrete to me when I’d hear people share their story of being in a position at the bank where they failed. Instead of firing them, my dad would suggest another position at the bank that might suit them better. Inevitably, the person would thrive in the new role, becoming a lifelong fan of my dad’s because dad took the time to look beyond their failures to see their potential. Community, for my dad, is a place for people to come together, to share their talents, and to achieve their dreams. And he loved playing a part in that.
Fond Memories
Throughout my life I saw my father share his many talents freely with the community.
With all that he did, I never felt cheated. I have fond memories of following him around as we worked on home projects: building a dog house, repairing a fence, installing a wood-burning stove. I was captivated by his ability to engineer a solution, and his willingness to let me “help.” He took the time to encourage me in computers.
And took delight in discussing each new thing I learned. He’d even coming home with paid programming jobs he’d found for me to take on. He encouraged me to find my path, and let me know that I always had his support. He and my mom waited patiently, for far too long, for grandkids without complaint.
Thanksgiving
In the two and a half years since my mom died, my dad had a lot of time to think. While he never shied away from solving the word’s problems, he did focus much of thought on reflecting on his life, and thanking God for the many blessings he’d received. He was thankful first and foremost for my mom. He knew that asking her to marry him was the best decision of his life. He was thankful for the talented people he worked with, for the opportunities for service he’d been given. He was thankful for the community of Oneonta that took him in and shaped his life of service. He was thankful for your friendships, and for sharing your story (he love hearing your stories) and sharing your journey with him. He told my sisters and me, in one of the last conversations we had with him the day before he died, that he did not want to die, but if it was his time to die, that he would die thankful. Would that we could all say that as we come to the end of our time on this Earth. And he serves us once gain, showing us, in the words of the St. Francis Prayer, “It is in giving that we receive…it is in dying that we born to eternal life.”
Share Your Story
Now is our special chance to be thankful for my dad. I’ve shared just a few scattered thoughts about my dad’s life of service. I invite you to share your story about my dad. He always got embarrassed when people talked about him, but he can’t object now. Please share your stories and memories through this site.
Flying with Bob
I am deeply saddened by the death of Bob and would like to extend my condolences to his family and friends
I met Bob in 1960 at the Air National Guard Unit in Schenectady we flew many missions together in the C97 and then the C130.
I remember Bob and I snorkeling in the lagoon at Wake Island in the Pacific. We brought our gear and explored the old Pan Am Sea plane ramps; we stopped when we met fish bigger than we were.
Bob and I were both working on Masters Degrees at RPI and we would find quiet places to study together when we had time on our flights to wherever.
We connected via Face book this summer and both remembered an engine fire we had at DaNang Air Base South Viet Nam. It was early morning and as we started either #3 or # 4 engine on our C97 we had a stack fire. It was etched in our memories.
May Bob rest in peace.
John Behuniak