David L. Moore II
Valero Refinery Fire Brigade – Texas
Classification: Volunteer
Rank: Assistant Chief
Date of Death: April 3‚ 2006
Age: 40
David was the Assistant Fire Chief of Valero Energy’s Houston Emergency Response Team. He was‚ in the words of his coworkers‚ a born leader. He loved his job‚ and people respected his judgment. He was patient and treated everyone with respect. David had the ability to remain calm‚ analyze problems‚ and arrive at a workable solution‚ even in the midst of chaos.
While on his first day of a week-long fire school in College Station‚ Texas‚ he collapsed in front of his coworkers and never regained consciousness. His coworkers and EMT specialists worked very diligently trying to save his life. An ambulance arrived shortly after and rushed him to the hospital. It was determined that at a young age of 40‚ David had suffered a fatal aneurysm. Twelve days prior to David’s demise‚ he expressed his wish to be an organ donor. He said that if he could not lead a healthy‚ happy life‚ then he would want to help someone else. His wishes were carried out‚ and he gave the gift of life to four strangers. He also gave the gift of time to their loved ones.
David was married for over twenty years to Charlotte‚ and they have three beautiful children: Lana‚ Lacey‚ and David L. Moore III (Trey). They live in Deer Park‚ Texas and enjoyed a traditional family home life. He was involved in all of their activities and enjoyed being a spectator at their soccer games‚ football games‚ dance recitals‚ or whatever they happened to be doing. David also had the most wonderful sense of humor. He was always so much fun to be around‚ always laughing‚ and his practical jokes are legendary.
In the 2005 Katrina aftermath‚ David took vacation days and spent most of that time at church‚ either preparing meals or delivering them to Katrina evacuees who were sheltered in our community. David also loved the outdoors. He was a member of the NRA‚ and he liked to hunt and fish. He was blessed with opportunities to travel through the years‚ and he was able to fish in Jamaica and Cancun. He also fished many‚ many times in the Gulf of Mexico. David’s lifelong dream was to hunt in Africa. He has a collection of books on hunting in Africa and always talked about it. This dream was realized in 2001 when he was able to spend two weeks in South Africa and hunt with his brothers. He was very excited about this opportunity. He shot an impala and a warthog. This was truly the trip of a lifetime‚ and David enjoyed remembering how special this trip was. He also had a deer lease in South Texas‚ where he would hunt with his son every year. They made many special memories over the years.
David will forever be in our hearts and in our minds. He lives on in all of us.
David was a wonderful husband and father. He was a good friend and a great person. He died doing work he loved and left a legacy that now lives on in the ones who received his gifts. His family can be immensely proud.
– Terry Brashier