BOUNTIFUL—Most kids don’t remember their high school teachers let alone keep in touch for years after graduation but it’s different with Kerry Moore’s students. The Bountiful man was the choral music director and German teacher at Cyprus High School for 35 years and left such a lasting impact that former students still called him “friend.” Moore passed away April 16 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.  

“He was an amazing teacher and so much more,” said Brent Graham, who graduated in 1998. “He was the person I needed at the time. He was the closest thing to a father.”

Graham grew up without a father and his mother passed away after he graduated. “It left a big hole,” he said. “I was a scared little 19-year-old. They (Moore and his wife Stacey) basically took me in. They’d invite me to Sunday dinner and Christmas. Otherwise I would have been alone.”

He loved teaching, said Graham. “It wasn’t a job – it was like a calling. He made you want to be a better person. His joy was infectious.”

“He was that guy,” said Blake Halladay who graduated in 1997. “You knew he cared beyond class. Many times I’d talk to him after school for hours. If kids had personal problems at home he’d step in to help. He was there for that.”

Kerry and Stacey were a power couple, Halladay said. “They could have done so much but they chose to teach high school. That says volumes about their character.”

Once kids graduated it didn’t end, he said. “My wife and I would go places with them. There are three men who changed the trajectory of my life. My father, my father-in-law and Kerry.”

Halladay spent time with Moore a few days before his passing. “I told him ‘I’m a better man because of you.’ He said, ‘Me too.’ That really hit me to think he feels blessed by me.”

Liz Oates (back center) graduated in 1997. She was in Moore's choirs and musicals. Photo courtesy Liz Oates

 “The most interesting thing about him was the passion and love he’d put into every project,” said Liz Oates who graduated in 1997. “You never felt like an afterthought. He wanted us to succeed. He would push us but we always felt that love.”

Oates said Moore was close friends with her father. “He and my dad were such good comrades. My dad wrote some music and when he died unexpectedly from a heart attack Kerry played dad’s album at his funeral. It was so touching. He was busy in his life but it was so special that he took the time to do that.”

Her senior year, Oates said one of her classmates was homeless for a time and living in her car. “He would check in on her and another classmate who had a horrible thing happen to her. He sat down and consoled her. That’s why so many people remember him. If you were down and out he’d be a friend to help people to recover.”

“Kerry was so patient and loving,” said Jeremy Felt who graduated in 2019. “He helped us find success. He would check our grades and see what he could do to help.”

In addition to choir, Moore was involved with the school musicals, Felt said. “I did a lot of musicals with Kerry and his wife who did the choreography. When I was the lead in Pirates of Penzance he told me to envision the music. He said music is the universal language to connect with people. He said the words might fade but they would always remember that song – music is so impactful.”

Felt said he also took music theory from Moore. “I still have my binder that he created. I create music for fun now in remembrance of Mr. Moore. I’m involved with community choirs and theater because of Mr. Moore.”

He was like Mr. Rogers, said Felt. “I’m so grateful that I got to be a part of his life. He touched the lives of others. He’s going to be missed.”