Olivia Moore

Olivia (Medina) Moore, 83, went home to God on Friday, April 11, 2025, at the Good Shepherd Hospice House in Manhattan, KS with her children by her side. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother to many, special aunt, dedicated teacher, and a caring sister. A Community Memorial Visitation will take place Tuesday, April 22, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Sawyer Chapel in Council Grove. There will be a Celebration of Life ceremony at the College Avenue United Methodist Church in Manhattan this summer.

Olivia was born Feb 25, 1942 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. She was the oldest of four children of the Rev. José de la Luz Medina and teacher Doris Cecilia (Valverde) Medina. Her parents' beliefs and community-building efforts instilled in her a powerful sense of “familia” and that service to others is our primary mission in life. Her willingness to kindly help others, family and strangers alike, became one of her defining characteristics. She often said, “If you are feeling down about your life, you should get out and help someone else.”

A year after she was born, the family moved to Alamosa, Colorado, where she lived most of her early years. But her ever-present curiosity drove her to beg, cajole and persuade her parents to let her leave the mountains of her beloved south-central Colorado home to attend college in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. At the College of Emporia she encountered the two loves of her life: teaching, and a certain linebacker who would challenge her intellect and shelter her heart for the rest of his days.

Olivia married Eldon Edgar Moore Aug 8, 1964 at the Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Alamosa the summer after graduation. They were both teachers and started work for Jefferson County Public Schools that year. Olivia taught first grade at Maple Grove Elementary in Lakewood, Colorado. Later she taught third grade at Prospect Valley Elementary in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The school’s progressive education approach and 85-110 students in an open school setting with a team of teachers challenged and exhilarated her. She still found time to earn a Master of Arts in Reading from the University of Northern Colorado.

Daughter, Angela was born in 1971 in Colorado. One year later she and Eldon moved back to Kansas - first to Council Grove and later to Eldon’s family farm in Morris County, where she lived until 2022. Son, Scott was born in Kansas in 1973. Olivia decided to stay home to teach her newest “students.” One thing that could be said about her was that she was not afraid of tough situations and would work hard until she solved the problem or rose to the challenge. Always driven to educate, and one to rise to a challenge, when she realized there was no preschool for her children or anyone else’s, she and another teacher started Morris County’s first preschool, The Early Learning Center.

Olivia also believed in the importance of children’s mental health and was active in the Mental Health Association of Morris County. She provided parenting books to libraries, shared educational materials and tutored children. She always felt that if children were given help at a younger age, they would have a better chance of success in school.

Olivia was hired by Morris County USD 417 in August 1978 to start a Title I preschool for children with educational and social needs. She was instrumental in conducting a preschool screening program for all the communities within the school district. She taught preschool through third grades at Council Grove Elementary School and was the Title I Reading Teacher, then Coordinator for the district. In her time as Title I Reading Coordinator she helped usher in a Title I math program. In 1986 she was named Master Teacher, USD 417. In 2000 she was named Outstanding Kansas Reading Educator by the Kansas Reading Association. From 1995-2002 Olivia was a part of the Kansas Accelerated Literacy Learning (K.A.L.L.) She not only taught children using the guidelines but also trained teachers. She was also a trainer for the state of Kansas for the Reading First grant, which focused on reading instruction for K-3 and led workshops for teachers around the state. Olivia was a member of the International Reading Association and the Kansas Reading Association as well as the Flint Hills Reading Council. From 2000 to 2003, Olivia taught interactive graduate-level courses for Emporia State University, broadcast simultaneously in Eastern Kansas, Dodge City, and Garden City. She was a pioneer in the training of teachers on methods of reading diagnosis over electronic delivery.

Reading was her passion. She loved books and wanted all children to find the joy in learning and reading. “When a child comes to school, he arrives with his own unique potentials - each child has his own personality, his own thoughts, his own capabilities, and his own limitations,” Olivia wrote of her philosophy on teaching. “Providing the child with a nurturing environment - one in which he has the freedom and encouragement to realize his potentials - is my greatest aspiration as a teacher of young children.” Many children and teachers benefited from her leadership and teaching. Olivia was a mentor to many. She retired from USD 417 in 2002. After retirement, Olivia worked with the Jones Institute to lead workshops around the state and country teaching educators new strategies for teaching reading.

Olivia was a kind and caring person, deeply involved in the lives of all around her. She was always the last to leave church, and she spent more hours than most on the phone, often checking on former students and colleagues. She made people feel nurtured, loved and accepted for who they were and always saw the best in them. Her friends and family knew they could count on her, and she wanted every child to know the same environment she grew up in, assured they were loved, encouraged to grow and supported to face any challenge. She also loved nature and gardening, spending many hours planning, planting, watering and growing a variety of foods and flowers. She would often invite family and friends to sit with her outside to enjoy conversations amongst the beautiful landscapes she had brought to life.

A favorite quote from Leo Buscaglia’s book Loving Each Other embodied her approach: “A loving relationship is like an ideal ‘home’ - within it you can totally be yourself, be accepted, understood, trusted, and respected as a valuable being. It is a nurturing environment where effort is made to provide enough caring and security so that one can share hopes and fears and where one is encouraged to learn and grow.”

Eldon passed away Sept. 11, 2010, after his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Olivia helped care for him to the end, something she said she considered a loving responsibility but never a burden. She was also preceded in death by her sister Patricia (Medina) Swensen, brother Charles Medina,  brothers-in-law D Jesse Moore and Lou Robinson. She is survived by her brother the Rev. Mark Medina; sisters-In-law Elizabeth Medina, Barbara Robinson, Amy W. Moore and Phyllis Moore;brother-in-law Harlan Heald; as well as children Scott and Angela Moore, son-in-law Ben Moore, soon to be daughter-in-law Michaela Shirley, grandchildren Sierra Her Many Horses, Ezekiel Moore, Apollo Moore, José Moore y Piña, and Atlas Shirley.

Olivia was a one-of-a kind woman who lived a life of joy, patience, faith, love, kindness, and perseverance. She hoped for the best and gave much of her time and attention to so many whose lives she touched – for the better. Her legacy will live on with those who knew her and were taught by her.

Given the love of education and reading that Olivia held her whole life, in lieu of flowers, the family is kindly encouraging donations to honor her legacy.

Suggested Donations:

1. For the Henry Zarrow International School (HZIS), the Spanish immersion school that Olivia’s grandson José attends:

1. Checks Written out to: HZIS Foundation
2. Write in the Memo Line: Olivia Moore Memorial
3. Send to: Olivia Moore Memorial, ℅ Sawyer Chapel
4. For more information:
   1. Zarrow School: www.zarrow.tulsaschools.org
   2. Zarrow Foundation: www.hzisfoundation.org

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3. For the USD 417 Schools, the district that Olivia dedicated a large part of her teaching career:

1. Checks Written out to: USD 417
2. Write in the Memo Line: Olivia Moore Memorial
3. Send to: Olivia Moore Memorial, ℅ Sawyer Chapel
4. For more information:
   1. USD 417: www.usd417.net

The family asks that any and all Donations be given to or mailed to:

Sawyer Chapel

Olivia Moore Memorial c/o Debbie Sawyer

P.O. Box 273

Council Grove, KS 66846

For any further questions, call 620.767-7877

To leave a special message for the family online, please visit www.sawyerchapel.com