The Tennessee judiciary is mourning the loss of retired Judge Russell Lee Moore, Jr., who passed away on January 28, 2022, at the age of 76. Judge Moore served as a circuit court judge in the in the 29th Judicial District, which includes Dyer and Lake counties, from 1997 until his retirement on December 1, 2021.
Born on January 6, 1946, to the Late Dr. Russell Lee Moore and the late Dorothy Frances Jordan Moore, he was a lifelong Dyer County resident. He was a graduate of the University of Mississippi and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Judge Moore earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of law and began practicing in 1971.
An avid athlete, Judge Moore played baseball, football and basketball for Dyersburg High School and continued to play baseball while attending the University of Mississippi. He would want you to know that in his junior year, he led the SEC in home runs under Coach Tom Swayze. Upon returning to Dyersburg, he joined the Men’s Fast Pitch Softball League where he blasted 36 home runs in the eight-team league. And while he enjoyed any opportunity to discuss his days as an athlete and the current state of sports at Ole Miss, Moore’s love for his wife, children and grandchildren was paramount. He never met a stranger. His genuine laughter, quick wit and sense of humor were contagious. He was known for his fervent honesty and unshakable integrity and yet remarkable kindness to all.
He strived to live a life of Christian conviction over convenience. His faith was at the forefront of his life. He and his family attend Dyersburg Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
He is a member of the Dyer County Bar Association, serving as past president, as well as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Mississippi State Bar. He served his community as a member of the Dyersburg Rotary Club (1973-1998), serving as past president; a Paul Harris Fellow on the Board of Directors of Frontier Federal Savings and Loan Association (1978-1982); member of the Board of Directors of the Dyersburg, Dyer County Chamber of Commerce (1980-1983); a member and Chairman of the Dyersburg City School Board (1985-1987); member of the First Tennessee Bank Regional Advisory Board (1988-1996); and was selected to All Tennessee School Board in 1991.
Judge Moore is survived by his loving wife, Janice Chitwood Moore; his beloved children Captain Russell Lee Moore III (Amy), Jacksonville, FL.; Jordan Willis (Matthew), Dyersburg, TN; and four grandchildren, Adam Trethewey, Kyra Trethewey, Madelyn Moore, and Harper Willis, and many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. He is preceded in death by his sister, Anne Jordan Moore McColgan, Dyersburg, TN.