Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

August 3, 2020

CHARLOTTE – Helen Shewmake Moore (born Helen Marie Shewmake) of Matthews, NC went to be with the Lord on August 3, 2020 after suffering a long decline in health. The family Is eternally grateful to the Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region and staff of Carrington Nursing Home for the years of care and support she received while at their facility.

Born December 13, 1931 in Knoxville, Tennessee to the parents of William and Ova Shewmake the family of three lived briefly in New York City and Pittsburgh, PA prior to settling at Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte, NC. As a little girl in New York, Helen remembered the day she saw the Hindenburg airship as it flew over the city on its fateful approach to Lakehurst, NJ. She remembered boarding the Queen Elizabeth luxury liner with her mother only to narrowly escape by the gangplank prior to it’s departure. As an only child, Helen was very outgoing, creative and energetic. She graduated from Central High School in Charlotte. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics at Winthrop College following her marriage to Jack Howard Moore in 1952. The two met while on a church hayride (their marriage lasted 68 years until Jack’s demise in 2019). Their marriage produced three loving sons who benefited greatly from their union.

Helen was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Their young family left Charlotte in the early 1960’s and moved to Matthews to live the country life in order to benefit the boys upbringing. Despite living in Matthews, the couple continued to attend St. John’s Baptist church on Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte- as Helen’s childhood home had been located next to St. John’s on Hawthorne Lane. Helen and Jack forged many dear and enduring friendships at St. John’s - and those friendships exist to this day.

With Jack and their sons, Helen engaged in Cub Scouts, PTA, Boy Scouts, and countless other child-rearing-related activities. When her youngest son started elementary school, she began what was to become an incredible career in journalism when she was asked to become the food writer for the Charlotte Observer, and later the News and Observer of Raleigh. She was to forge a unique balance between the demands of what eventually became a professional career with the raising of their three sons and a loving and supportive husband. In the pre-internet days, Helen’s food-writing life expanded the world to her husband and children through the interactions and interviews she held with countless people of every persuasion. Helen loved the people she interviewed. She loved the details of how food brought people together. For her work, Helen was the recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award from Governor Bob Scott- the highest award given to those who serve this state. 

Helen’s faith sustained her in her later years. She is preceded in death by her husband Jack and son Keith. She is survived by her loving family including son,Kent Elliot Moore and his wife Nancy; five grandchildren:  Katherine Williford and her husband Michael, William Moore and his wife Crystal , and Caison Moore and his wife Griffin; and two great-grandchildren: Lucy Rose Williford and William Perry Moore.

Due to current COVID restrictions, the family will hold a private service for immediate family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Carrington Place Nursing Home or Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte Region.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences can be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.