Scott Paddison Moore

June 9, 1974 - May 19, 2020

Scott Paddison Moore of Memphis, TN passed away peacefully on May 19th, 2020 surrounded by family and friends. He was born in Memphis on June 9th, 1974 to Jack Gerrie Moore and Shirley Paddison Moore. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in Religious Studies, he was a labor organizer in Missouri and taught school in Memphis for several years, first at White Station High School and later at St. Mary’s Episcopal School. Scott cared deeply about ideas and consumed information voraciously. He typically knew more about history, music, or sports than anyone around him. In fact, Scott was the smartest person most of his friends and students ever met. But despite being one of the world’s great talkers, Scott was an even better listener. He was an intellectual whose favorite thing to do was share and exchange ideas with others. In sharing his own original and profound opinions, Scott taught everyone (not just his students) how to think about and analyze the world. He had a tremendous sense of humor and a rock-solid moral compass. He was also a community builder. Scott, along with his loving wife and best friend Cindy, collected so many good friends and touched so many lives over the years. You never knew who else might be around when you stopped in to visit the Moores, but it was always someone fun and interesting. Scott and Cindy’s diverse and multi-generational “hootenannies” were legendary and constituted some of Scott’s proudest moments. Scott was a music lover who delved deep into the back catalogs of musicians; pored over liner notes; watched and re-watched The Last Waltz; made and remade lists of his favorite albums and songs; and argued pointlessly and gleefully with his lifelong friends over those same lists. For his last days he made an ultimate playlist of his favorite songs -- all 900 of them. Scott loved sports and was always ready to share hot takes on his St. Louis Cardinals and Memphis Tigers or break down the Grizzlies’ draft picks. It made Scott so happy to become a husband and father. After receiving the incredible blessing of a double lung transplant, he was able to spend many more loving and meaningful years with his family here on Earth. His daughters will treasure those memories. The family is grateful to the anonymous donor who gave them that gift. Scott will be forever loved by his wife Cindy Cates Moore and beautiful daughters Isabelle and Lucy; his mother Shirley and sister Kim McGrath; his extended family; his good friends; his former students; and his church community at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. During this time of social-distancing, immediate family only will gather for a private memorial service. Memorial donations may be sent to support Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA) at https://www.mifa.org/donatenow or Vanderbilt Transplant Center at https://give.vanderbilthealth.org.