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If there was ever a woman who could compete with men, it was Betty Jean Moore.
Betty Moore, who died last month at 88-years-old, was a competitive cyclist, golfer, hunter, angler and square dancer.
Betty and her late husband, Joseph Moore, would compete with one another in everything, and she always won.
“Now we know why daddy was grumpy all of the time; it was because she was always beating him,” said Connie Moore, Betty Moore’s daughter. “Everything they did, they did together and she did better!”
“I think she and my dad were pretty competitive with each other,” said Gail Moore Mire, another of Betty Moore’s daughters. “She won a lot. She killed the biggest deer and caught the biggest fish.”
The two were outdoors aficionados. Betty Moore, who was a tomboy in her youth, was the only female who would hunt with their group of friends, her daughter, Jeri Moore Thompson, said.
“She always shot deer, and they were always the biggest ones,” Thompson said. And she wouldn’t hunt in a deer stand. She would hunt on the ground.
The same went with fish. Betty Moore had numerous trophy mounts.
Betty met Joseph Moore when they both attended Louisiana Tech University. Betty Moore worked for the federal government her whole life, starting with U.S. Department of Soil and Water Conservation while they lived in northern Louisiana. Joseph Moore worked for Hughes Tool Company, now a part of Baker Hughes. His work brought him to Houma in the 1960’s, and Betty Moore began working at the Social Security Administration office in town.
It wasn’t the most fascinating work, said Connie Moore, but her mother would compensate for that with her hobbies.
Betty Moore and her husband also loved to square dance. While the two lived in Jackson, Mississippi before moving to Houma, they would dance often.
“They had the most beautiful outfits, because dad had a shirt that was made to match her skirts,” said Thompson.
Betty Moore loved to golf and bowl as well. Both Betty Moore and her husband won many tournaments together.
But where Betty Moore shined was in competitive cycling.
The couple took up competitive cycling when they moved to Houma. Betty and Joseph Moore would ride for long distances.
“When I was in college in Louisiana Tech, mom and dad left their house…in Mulberry subdivision and rode their bicycles 300 miles up to Ruston where I was in school,” said Connie Moore, “and turned around and went home.”
Connie Moore would ride with her parents often. When she was 13-years-old, she and her parents embarked on a century cycling race from Homestead, Florida to the Keys and back.
A century race is a one-day, 100 mile race.
Mother, father and daughter rode together for a while, but Connie Moore began falling behind. Betty and Joseph Moore rode ahead, and passed their daughter on the way back. It was getting dark, and so Betty and Joseph came back with the car, but not to give her a ride. They drove behind her and illuminated the road for her.
“She was always really pushing me to do this well, don’t procrastinate, finish it up,” Connie Moore said.
Betty Moore cycled until she could no more. Betty Moore won several gold medals in the Senior Olympics in Baton Rouge. Betty Moore rode in the 40K and speed cycling events and won in both.
“She was very proud of them,” Mire said.
In a long distance race here in Houma, Betty Moore even qualified for the state Olympics, said Thompson. If she had won at the state level, she would have qualified for further trials.
“She just loved to ride,” Thompson said. “In her age group, she came out on top.”
Betty Jean Moore poses with her gold medal and bicycle. Moore passed away at 88 on Feb. 20.
