WCU mourns loss of former Board of Trustees, Foundation chair Jim Moore
Jim Moore, a longtime supporter of Western Carolina University, meets with Victoria Ladd, the 2021 recipient of a scholarship he established to benefit members of the women’s golf team. A 2023 graduate of WCU, Ladd is now assistant director of the Catamount Club.
By Bill Studenc
The Western Carolina University community is mourning the loss of longtime friend, volunteer leader and donor Jim Moore, who died Monday, Nov. 18, at the age of 87 after a period of declining health.
Originally from Kannapolis and a resident of Sylva, Moore was a retired banking industry executive with First Union and Wachovia. He was a former member and chairman of the WCU Foundation Board of Directors, and he was a member of the WCU Board of Trustees from 1990 until 1999, serving as chair of the trustees beginning in 1997.
A 1959 graduate of Pfeiffer College (now university) with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he also had a home in Lenoir and in Fort Myers, Florida.
“For decades, Jim Moore made major contributions of his time, talents and treasure to his adopted university,” WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown said. “His generosity touched on numerous areas of the institution, including athletics, academics, the arts and the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band. One of the last events that Jim attended was the Catamount Club Shootout Golf tournament at Marion Lake Club, helping to raise money for Catamount Athletics. He has been a valued member of the Catamount family, and his passing is a great loss to Western Carolina University.”
Along with his service on the Foundation Board and Board of Trustees, Moore chaired a 14-member task force formed in 2007 and charged with examining the Catamount football program and making recommendations that would lead to both short-and long-term improvements to the team.
Most recently, he was a member of the steering committee for WCU’s current “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign, making his own campaign contributions to the initiative’s focus on improving athletics facilities and to support the Catamount Club, of which he was a longstanding member. He had donated to WCU consistently since 1981, with a particular affinity for the university’s men’s and women’s golf programs.
Recipient of Western Carolina University’s Distinguished Service Award in 1999, he established an endowed scholarship in 2016 to benefit members of the Catamount women’s golf team in recognition of his friendship with former head coach Mallory Hetzel.
An announcement of arrangements will be forthcoming.
