Benita Moore

We honor and celebrate the amazing and unique life of Benita Moore, beloved sister and aunt, musician, teacher, scholar, and poet.  Benita passed away peacefully on September 30, 2023, at the age of 92. Through a lifetime of service, musical performance, teaching (music and literature), writing, and spreading joy, she touched the lives of many. On March 25, 1931, Benita was born in a humble farmhouse near Corning, Iowa, joining her two older sisters, Rosemary and Rita, and a large extended Irish Catholic family. She spread her wings, enthusiastically embracing scholarly and musical pursuits, education, and service. After graduating from Ottumwa Heights College (associate degree) and Marycrest College (Bachelor of Music), she entered religious life in the Congregation of the Humility of Mary. Over the next decade Benita received a master’s degree in music and religious studies from the University of Iowa and completed a doctoral degree in religious studies from the University of Iowa, eventually publishing her dissertation on F. Scott Fitzgerald and authoring many journals, conference papers, and articles. Her substantial body of writings is now part of the University of Iowa’s Women’s Archives. Her teaching of music, especially piano, and English at many levels led to a professorship at Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa. A citizen of the world, Benita traveled extensively and even sang with the Quad City Chorus at Carnegie Hall! Her other passions included Democratic Politics, Iowa basketball, a well-made Manhattan, a savory roast pork and scalloped corn dinner, restaurants with friends, the local Corning News, windmills, books, lectures, and always learning. Benita came to live in Denver in the fall of 2017 to be close to her younger sister, Jane, and to spread her love and light, firmly planted in her family’s hearts, to those who cared for her until her passing. Thanks to all her caregivers at Brookdale Lowry. The last of the “Moore Girls,” she was predeceased by her sisters, Sr. Rosemary Moore, Rita Stanton, and Jane Moore, as well as her parents, Linus and Teresa Moore.  She is survived by her niece, Liz Stanton; her great nephew, Luke Stanton; and her niece-in-law, Nancy Stanton. A funeral mass will be arranged in Corning, Iowa. Donations in honor of Benita can be sent to the Community of the Humility of Mary. Community of the Humility of Mary