The community of Emmonak mourns the loss of a leader and pioneer, Martin Moore Sr. With 26 years in public life, he served his community and state in many ways: as state legislator, city manager, mayor, and as a beloved husband, father to four, grandfather to 23 and great-grandfather to 23.
Emmonak’s acting city manager and lifelong friend of Moore, Nicholas Tucker Sr., credits his friend for bringing many modern necessities to Emmonak – including several schools, sewer and water systems, roads, the regional port, and a clinic. Tucker also says he was a powerful advocate for Alaska Native subsistence, both locally and internationally.
“He brought health and warmth, and he brought heat and he brought cleanliness, help with hygiene, and he did that relentlessly. I don’t know how in the world he had time for everything!” Tucker said.
Tucker says Moore will be remembered for how he treated the most vulnerable. If an Elder needed help, such as corresponding with a government agency, Moore was patient and present. “He was very fluent both in English and in our Yup’ik language, and he would take time and let them talk in Yup’ik, because they had nobody to speak for them or write for them and translate for them,” Tucker said.
Moore’s daughter, Dora Christine Moore-Harrel, says her father was a devout Catholic and a powerful role model in private. “We grew up praying. He taught us to be a praying family. He taught us to learn from our lessons. He taught us to forgive one another. And he always told us about the greatest commandment to love one another,” Moore-Harrel said.
Tucker says his friend lived out his Catholic faith: “He barely spoke it, but gave attention to the needy, the hungry, the helpless, the ones that cannot speak for themselves, and those that needed attention and lifting up. That’s what we remember him for the most.”
Image at top: Martin Moore Sr., a veteran and highly respected Western Alaskan leader and Elder was memorialized by his community. Empowered by a strong Catholic faith, he did much for his hometown of Emmonak and the State of Alaska. Photo Courtesy of Calista Corporation, used with permission.
