BIOGRAPHY -  Rhea Lucille Terry

      Rhea Lucille Terry, the first child of Horace Walter and Ida (Taylor) Terry, was born in Onondaga township, Ingham county, Michigan, on February 1, 1896.

    When she was two years old, a brother, Albert Taylor Terry, was born, who was destined to live only eleven years.  He died slowly and pathetically of brain tumor, the result of an injury suffered on the play ground at school.  Rhea had always assumed a very motherly attitude toward her brother, and it is the opinion of the author that his tragic death may have come as more of a shock to this sensitive young girl, just entering her "teens" than anyone was aware of  at the time.  In the light of present knowledge, it is entirely possible that she may have secretly blamed herself for not having guarded his welfare more closely.

    Always a brilliant student,  she continued her school work un- interrupted, to graduate with top honors from the eighth grade at Aurelius district school, near her home.  In the fall of 19l0 she went to live  with friends of the family, the Henry Rogers, in Eaton Rapids,  to attend high school in that town, which was six miles from her parents' farm home.  She graduated as Valedictorian of her class in 1914.

    In December of 1913, when she was nearly 18, a baby sister was born, Marion Iris. Their mother was 38 and their father 44 by now, so from that time on, Rhea was often mistaken by strangers for her sister's mother. 

    After spending the winter with her parents in Florida, she commenced at Albion College in Michigan, but later transferred to Western State Normal School (now Western Sate University), in Kalamazoo, from which she graduated in June of 1918.   During her undergraduate career she was a member of both the Literary and the Psychology Clubs.  In 1918, the "Brown and Gold" yearbook shows her photograph, with the comment, "tactful Terry."

      In September of 1918, she accepted her first teaching position in the Algonac, Michigan public school  where she remained for two years. 

     On August 14, 1920, she married the superintendent of this school, Martin R. Moore.  The ceremony was performed in Ann Arbor by the Rev. A. W. Stalker, a Methodist Episcopal minister.  The  groom's brother, Errol W. Moore, was best man.  Rhea was 25 at this time, and her husband 32 and a widower, the son of James C. Moore of Ypsilanti, Michigan.

     In January of 1921 they settled in Lansing in an apartment on West Main Street.  Her husband commenced what was to be a period of 33 year's service as a teacher at West Junior High School.  In 1922 they moved to occupy the house immediately across the street, and her husband's nephew, Lewis Basset, made his home with them while attending college at East Lansing.  The following year, a niece, Donna Basset, lived with them while she attended the same school.. 

    In 1924 they purchased a home on Britton Avenue in Lansing near Martin's brother, James Moore, who was a pattern maker for Reo Motor Car Company.   Also nearby, on Britton Avenue, lived Dr. and Mrs. (Mary) Spencer Barnum, who had just purchased the famous Britton mansion, in which the highly-publicized murder of Mrs. Billy Britton had recently occurred. When the author first visited the place, the bloody handmarks of the victim were still visible on the wall in the upper hall, where the killing was committed.  No solution was ever made by the police of this tragedy.

    Mrs. Barnum had been a college "chum" of Rhea's during college, at which time the doctor was serving as surgeon in the army during World War I.   The friendship was at this time renewed, to the point that an arrangement was made for Rhea to assist Dr. Barnum in his office as secretary, a position which she held for a number of years.  In 1925, she was able to purchase their first automobile, an Essex sedan, from bonus money made collection her employer's bad debts.

    In 1926 Dr. Barnum assisted them in adopting a child then about a year old, who was christened Richard Allen Moore.  Rhea continued to hold her position by employing a combination housekeeper-nurse maid.

     In 1928, Rhea left Dr. Barnum's employ, and they moved from Britton Avenue to the suburbs of Lansing , at 3326 West Saginaw street. Richard had suffered many childhood illnesses, but nevertheless, the years from 1926 to 1940 were undoubtedly the happiest of her life, for she shared in her son's development by joining him in sports such as swimming and ice skating, and played the piano to accompany him while he practiced violin, at which he was quite proficient.

    When he reached 14, Rhea taught Richard to drive the family car, and he seemed a most capable and dependable chauffeur, to the point where he was allowed to take the car out alone for neighborhood trips and on errands.  But, once again, the grim hand of tragedy plucked a beloved boy from the life of Rhea Terry.

     July of 1940, Richard Moore was killed--his car struck broadside at eighty miles an hour--in a collision near their home.  Rhea was looking unsuspectingly from her window when the ambulance carrying Richard's battered but still-living body went past with sirens screaming.  A few minutes later she received the call informing her of the accident and asking her to hurry to the hospital, but Richard never regained consciousness.

    After the funeral, all signs of grief were erased from visibility, but from that day forward she slowly commenced to lose weight and life force, although she continued to live for another 18 years, trying to find solace in church work and public service.  She became a fellowship worker, secretary of a church circle, was active in the Sunday School and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Plymouth Congregational church of Lansing.  She was a charter member, helping to organize the Ingham County Humane Society, and was Chairman of the local precinct election board.

     Rhea Terry Moore passed away in the body on Wednesday, December 17, 1958 at the age of 63, and was buried the following Friday in Deepdale Cemetery in Lansing, where her heart had been for many years.  

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