Walter C. Moorman, Sr.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Walter Coker Moorman, 90, died peacefully on Thursday, October 24, 2019. Born on May 29, 1929 in Decatur, Alabama, Walter was the son of the late Lemuel Talbot Moorman and the late Marion Coker Moorman.
     Walter grew up in South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University in 1950 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He founded the civil engineering firm Moorman & Little, Inc. (now Moorman, Kizer & Reitzel, Inc.) in Fayetteville, NC in 1959, practicing in NC, SC, and VA. Walter was involved in the development of 51 subdivisions, three golf course communities, and many shopping centers. He retired in 1995 but continued to provide leadership at the local and state level in development regulations and storm water management.
Walter knew and loved the land and waterways of North and South Carolina. He was a member of the Cape Fear River Assembly and was an instrumental part of developing the NC Interbasin Transfer Water Act, working to protect the Cape Fear River and the Fayetteville community. Some of his happiest times were spent at Long Beach, NC, fishing, crabbing, sailing, cooking, boating, and visiting with family and friends.
     Walter served in a leadership role on many boards, including the Salvation Army, Cumberland County Health Department, Cumberland County Planning Board, Cumberland County Board of Adjustments, Fayetteville Academy, Cumberland Community Foundation, Fayetteville YMCA, Kiwanis Club of Fayetteville, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, Methodist University, United Way of Cumberland County, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, and the Fayetteville Museum of Art. The Salvation Army recognized his service with their highest honor, The Others Award. He also served on numerous boards of financial institutions, including Cross Creek Savings & Loan, East Coast Federal Savings & Loan’s corporate board, Southern National Bank, and BB&T.
     Walter was chairman of the board of Fayetteville Industrial Development Corporation during the recruitment of several key manufacturing plants to Cumberland County, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Walter received both the Realtors Cup of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and the Pillar of the Industry Award of the Fayetteville Homebuilders Association. When receiving the highest honor for lifetime service from the Homebuilders Association, Walter was described as an individual who was “concerned about the disenfranchised in our community, the students, the children, the poor – he never lost sight of the needs in our community and did it in such a humble, quiet way that most people never knew.”
     Walter loved to learn and continued to pursue new hobbies throughout his life. As a college student, he became a pilot and studied navigation. He was an avid salt-water fisherman off the coast of Long Beach, NC. He learned the coordinates of the many shipwrecks and happily shared his knowledge, experience, and stories with other fishermen. He taught himself to sail by reading books and enjoyed being “Captain” for friends who joined him on many adventures in the British Virgin Islands, the Puget Sound, and the Baja Peninsula, as well as the coasts of Maine and North Carolina. Later in life, he learned woodworking, became a Master Gardener, and tried his hand at beekeeping. Walter spent many happy hours bird hunting with friends, driving his tractor, cultivating grapes and caring for his bluebird boxes at his farm in Cedar Creek on the Cape Fear River.
     A lifelong Episcopalian, Walter was the Scout Master at Holy Trinity and served on the vestries of both Holy Trinity and St. John’s. He was a member of the Board of Visitors of Kanuga Conferences, where he vacationed with his wife, children, and their families every summer for twenty-five years.
     Walter was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Mary Yarborough Moorman, and his sister-in-law, Katherine Yarborough Huguley. He is survived by his wife, Clara Moffitt Howell Moorman; his children, Walter Coker Moorman, Jr., Mary M. Holmes and her husband, John F. Holmes, Frank McLeod Moorman and his wife, Sarah Norwood Moorman, and Marian M. Morgan and her husband, Christopher J. Morgan, all of Fayetteville; nine grandchildren, James Morgan of Knoxville, TN, Mary Kate Morgan of Fayetteville, NC, Charles Moorman, Catherine Moorman, and Elizabeth Moorman all of Fayetteville, NC, Coker Holmes of Raleigh, NC, Covey Holmes of Fayetteville, NC Spencer Holmes Feijoo and husband John of Miami, FL, Oliver Holmes and wife Trish of Ft. Mill, SC; and three great grandchildren. Walter is also survived by his brother, Dr. Lemuel Talbot Moorman and his wife, Kathie of Aurora, CO; a brother-in-law Arthur W. Huguley III of New Orleans, LA; nephews, Arthur W. Huguley IV and his wife, Maureen, Martin C. Huguley and his wife, Suzanne, and James S. Huguley, Lemuel T. Moorman, and Vance M. Moorman; nieces Rosalind M. Stauthamer and Tiare M. Smith; and many beloved cousins and grandnieces and grandnephews.
     A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Monday, October 28, 2019, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, NC, with The Reverend Robert Alves officiating. The family will receive friends in Hauser Hall after the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church (302 Green Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301) or Cumberland Community Foundation (PO Box 2345, Fayetteville, NC 28302).

Services entrusted to Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St. Fayetteville, NC 28301
Online condolences may be sent to www.jerniganwarren.com

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