Biographies M
Loran Paschal Moore
Life on a farm, long before the days of the automobile and radio, was severe in its simplicity, and did compel and encourage habits of work, observation and patience. So it was that the boy on the farm who turned to books would read and re-read the books in his home and in the neighbors' homes. And because books were scarse they would be wisely chosen. Loran Moore's early education was not bounded by the walls of a small school; he had the ability and desire to study at home, and as he worked in the fields or trudgged long country miles, he meditated over what he read and what he heard. The background of the farm is a fine background for a medical man, where study and research and patient understanding of people is so necessary for success. And so Dr. Loran Paschal Moore had a good beginning as a student, and has consistently followed his early studious bent, so that he has now given years of successful service, both as a general practitioner and as a specialist.
Loran Pashcal Moore was born on a farm in Hopkins County, Kentucky, on April 12, 1872. He grew up on the farm, working his way through an added list of chores as he grew older and stronger. Very definitely he learned the lesson of the farm, that there are duties that cannot be put off, but must be performed. Together with the children of neighboring farms, he attended rural school. Early in life he decided to study and be a doctor, and his parents encouraged his worthy ambition. They made sure that he had all possible opportunity to read and improve himself outside of school, and when he graduated from grade school they sent him to Madisonville High School. From high school he passed to Barnes Medical College of St. Louis, Missouri, from which he received his M.D. degree in 1898.
Dr. Moore opened his practice in White Plains, Kentucky, and remained there for one year. He then moved to Greenville, Muhlenberg County, where he has practiced continuously since the turn of the century. During his first twenty years in Greenville, Dr. Moore engaged in general practice, but he became increasingly absorbed and expert in treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dr. Moore took post-graduate work in this specialized field at the Chicago Post Graduate School, and at Tulane University in New Orleans. His practice is now confined to the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and he is known as a particularly skillful and talented practitioner. Patients come to his office from a wide territory because of the benefits they have heard of from their relatives and friends.
Dr. Moore is an active member of the Muhlenberg Medical Society, the Kentucky Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He served for several years as a member of the Board of Health of Muhlenberg County. For many years he was a director of the First National Bank of Greenville. Dr. Moore believes in the advice he often hands out to others: “Get out on the golf course.” He is a good player, but gets almost as much enjoyment out of friendship in the open and the beauty of the surroundings as he does from the game. Dr. Moore belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and has advanced through the degree of the Royal Arch of that order. His political affiliation is with the Democratic party.
On November 19, 1902, shortly after coming to Greenville, Dr. L.P. Moore married Iola Adkins of Dupoy, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. They have three children. Hazel Moore, now Mrs. Joseph Martin of Greenville, is the mother of two children, Louise Moore Martin and Joan Martin. Lucile Moore is now Mrs. Marvin Dempsey of Greenville and the mother of three children, Don, Stephen Riley and Fred. The only son, Loran Paschal Moore, Jr., after his graduation from the Greenville High School attended Vanderbilt University, receiving the B.S. degree from that University. He then attended the Medical School of the University of Louisville, where he received his M.D. degree. After serving his leadership, he took a two-year course in the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat at Tulane University, as his father had done some years previously. During his college years he became a member of Delta Theta fraternity. He is now a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, and has spent more than a year in service in Iceland.
The father of Dr. Moore was William Riley Moore, a native of Hopkins County and a farmer. He served in the Confederate Army during the War Between the States. His mother was Frances Familiar (Hanks) Moore, a distant relative of Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln.
Talent and hard work, perseverance and ability have teamed up to bring Dr. Moore to his place of success. Now he has the added satisfaction of having guided his son along the path he has followed himself. Although they are separated by thousands of miles, the day of Victory will soon come when Dr. Loran Paschal Moore, Jr., will return to enter practice and follow in the footsteps of his distinguished father.
Source: Wallis, Frederick A., and Hambleton Tapp, eds. A Sesqui-Centennial History of Kentucky. Vol. 4. Hopkinsville, KY: Historical Record Association, 1945. Pages 2145-2147.
Updated July 9, 2018