Jessye C. Hamilton Moore was the third of thirteen children born to Albert and Annie Byrd Hamilton in Marietta, TX. Her parents moved their young family to the Center Point Community in Pittsburg, TX when she was a child. There, she was raised in a loving home and community that instilled life-long values of hard work and dedication to family and community.

Jessye was valedictorian of the 1950 class of Frederick Douglass High School.  She attended Prairie View A&M University, graduating in 1954, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Education. While attending Prairie View A&M, she met her future husband, Leo Moore, Jr., and they remained inseparable and committed to each other from then on.

When Leo graduated from Prairie View in 1953, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army. He and Jessye married in 1955 and after he completed his active-duty military service, they left Texas and relocated to Kansas City, MO. Jessye worked as a secretary for the Kansas City Call newspaper and other organizations in the city before taking a job as a secretary with the Kansas City, Missouri School District. One of her duties was to prepare the payroll. Once she realized teachers made more money than secretaries, she began taking graduate courses at Avila University and obtained lifetime Elementary and Secondary Missouri Teacher's Certification. Jessye was a lifelong learner and remained an avid reader throughout her life.

Teaching became her passion and life's work. She taught at the elementary, junior high and high school levels. She taught at Richardson Elementary for several years before moving on to Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School where she taught typing and business classes and became the yearbook sponsor. She transferred to Westport High School to teach upper-level business courses. Throughout her career, Jessye held various leadership roles at the school and district level. She retired in 1993 after a stellar 34-year career.

Jessye's parents introduced her to the Lord when she was a child, and she developed a lifelong relationship with Him. Jessye and her family joined Second Baptist Church in 1963 and immediately became active members. She loved singing and was a member of the adult choir for over 40 years. Jessye served as a Sunday School Teacher, Department and General Superintendent. She also served as a Vacation Bible School Teacher and Coordinator, Drama Director, President of the Married Couples Club, Vice Chair of the Relief Workers Club, and Chair of the Advisory Council. She worked with the youth department and coordinated Youth Achievement Day. Jessye served diligently and faithfully as long as she was physically able to do so.

Jessye loved her family and supported them in every way. She enjoyed buying unexpected gifts and sending cards and words of encouragement. She was an excellent seamstress and had a keen eye for fashion. She felt she was not properly dressed for Sunday morning worship if she didn't have on a hat that matched her outfit.

Jessye was a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. After she retired, she attended local, state and national meetings, conferences and conventions. She enjoyed traveling to many cities around the country and spending time rekindling friendships.

Jessye's life was well lived. She was preceded in death by both parents, her husband, Leo; son, Michael Vance Moore; siblings, Argie Aldridge, Dorothy Hodge, Suereatha Jordan, Aliene Linwood, Bornton, Alfred, Martenzie, and Welton Hamilton.

Her legacy lives on in family that will always cherish her memory daughters, Andrea Henderson (Eddie) and Tamara Callahan (Joe); grandchildren, Danielle, Ellice and Aaron (Jennifer) Henderson, Joseph, and Isaiah (T'Kayla) Callahan; great-grandchildren, Elijah Henderson, Maleah, and Kamiyah Callahan; brothers, Hilton, Bernard (Helen), Kenneth and Shelton (Paula) Hamilton; sister, Josephine Smith; sisters-in-law, Claudette and Carolyn Hamilton; nieces, nephews, and many other loved ones and friends.

Thoughtful care and services provided by E. S. Eley & Sons Funeral Chapel, Inc .