POMONA>> Happi Moore was one of the bigger supporters the Los Angeles County Fair has had.
Those who knew her said only her fondness for her church matched what she felt for the fair.
“She loved First Baptist Church and she loved the fair,” her longtime friend Pinki Pinckley said.
Moore, 98, died Jan. 2 at Claremont Manor of natural causes, her granddaughter Kristina Lloyd said Thursday.
A memorial service for Moore will take place at 11 a.m. today at Purpose Church, formerly Pomona First Baptist Church, 601 N. Garey Ave.
• Video: Happi Moore describes early L.A. County Fair visits
Moore’s fondness for the fair was deep, as were her ties to it.
Moore was born July 26, 1918, to Cyrus and Pearl Jones in Pomona. Cyrus Jones owned Pomona Fixtures and Wiring Co. and was part of the group that contributed the funds to launch the fair.
She was 4 years old when she participated in the very first fair in 1922, and she never missed a fair until last year’s, when her health made it too difficult, Lloyd said.
In an August 2012 Daily Bulletin article, Moore explained how in 1922 she participated in the fair’s parade, riding aboard her father’s business float.
“Daddy took a flatbed truck and divided it with a black curtain. On the back, my aunt was scrubbing away on a washtub. My mother was on the front, sitting in a rocking chair, relaxing and reading a book beside a brand-new washing machine,” the publication reported.
Moore recalled sitting at her mother’s feet. The float showed how doing laundry could be made easier with the help of what was then incredible technology: a washing machine.
Moore served as grand marshal of the fair’s opening day parade in 2012. Crowds cheered as she made her way along the parade route, Sharon Autry, Fairplex communications and public relations coordinator, said.
“She was absolutely on cloud nine,” Autry said.
Moore was involved with the fair for decades, sometimes as a guest, sometimes working in booths and in other capacities.
Lloyd said her grandmother enjoyed every part of the fair, and she could make her way throughout the grounds, explaining how Fairplex evolved, what it looked like at different periods in its history and what features had been removed — and what replaced them.
The fair had things that Moore was particularly fond of, Lloyd said. Among those was the Flower and Garden Pavilion and the garden railroad.
The last year Moore attended the fair was 2015. Her health had begun to fail by then, but she was still able to visit with the help of a small electric cart, Lloyd said.
But there was more to Moore than the fair. She was active in numerous groups and activities.
“Everybody called her the Energizer bunny because she was so active,” Lloyd said.
She was also a talented pianist.
“She played by ear,” Lloyd said. “She didn’t read music, but she had thousands of songs in her brain.”
People would ask her to play certain tunes throughout her lifetime and she would. Instead of sheet music, Moore kept a recipe box that contained cards with the chords to pieces of music, her granddaughter said.
“She made her own arrangements,” Lloyd said. She would play for friends, for church choirs, for fellow senior citizens and for music therapy groups.
“She would play for everyone,” Lloyd said. “That’s was her biggest joy.”
Moore was someone who always gave of herself to others, her granddaughter said.
“She would just give and give and give,” Lloyd said.
Pinckley said she will miss her friend of 68 years.
“I will miss her positive, optimistic attitude about everything,” Pinckley said.
Pinckley was a 17-year-old senior at Pomona High School when she began working at the Bank of America in Pomona, and Moore trained her to do her job.
Pinckley worked at the bank for five years before moving to South Dakota. She returned to California after seven years and enrolled in a nursing training program and became a registered nurse.
As a young nursing student, Pinckley went to Moore when she encountered difficulties. Moore offered encouragement, support and words of advice.
“She helped me to mature in life and to be more positive,” Pinckley said.
Moore did something else, Pinckley said. She was a woman of faith and “she taught me to be strong in my faith,” she said.
Moore was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Roger Moore. She is survived by her two children, Frank Satterwhite of Hayward and Donni Lloyd of Ventura; seven grandchildren, David Satterwhite of San Leandro, Heather Satterwhite Levinger, Erica Satterwhite Herbert, Meadow D’Arcy Dominguez, all of the Hayward area, Lisa Van Doorn of Eureka, Kristina Lloyd of Los Angeles and Kevin Lloyd of Luxembourg; 16 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
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