George T.N. Moy

George T. N. Moy was a man with a warm sense of humor, infectious smile and a story for everyone. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts to the head waiter at one of the most prestigious Chinese restaurants in the Boston area, George and his 3 year older brother Tony were raised in the Eagle Restaurant. It was during a time of the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 when Chinese immigrants were denied citizenship and treated as lower class citizens. Born in Boston, George and Tony were US citizens and were part of the 20,000 Chinese that later joined the US military (of about 100,00 Chinese in the US, few were US citizens). This dedication to our country led to the Congressional Gold Medal finally proudly awarded to World War 2 Chinese-American veterans in 2021. When their mother started to become ill, it was decided they would travel back to China to get some Chinese culture. Some rather primitive life in rural China. George was only 3. Unfortunately their mother passed away and the boys were left in China with their grandmother. So in 1938, as Japan was overrunning China, their father sent money to have them return to the US alone (ages 11 & 14). They traveled steerage class by ship to Hawaii then to Victoria, Canada. Next was a train ride across Canada to Montreal then finally Boston. They lived on the upper floor of the Eagle Restaurant, sometimes sharing one room with 10s of people, going to school and working at multiple jobs. George had a rough time in school with his limited English. However, it was here he learned the joy of music he would carry throughout his life. When he turned 18 in 1945, George enlisted in the US Army. His brother Tony was seeing intense action on the light cruiser USS Vicksburg in the Pacific theater. George was posted to the Army Signal Corp at Vint Hill Farms Station in Virginia and taught Morse Code as a Tech 4 Sargent. He tells the story of how Gen Bradley recognized the significant contributions of Vint Hill Farms in the decoding of Axis secret messages that led to the US’s eventually victory at Normandy. BTW- “The Farm" later became the first home of the NSA (National Security Agency) so “teaching Morse Code” may have been quite a bit more involved. After the war, George was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and spent over two and a half years in VA Hospitals. Eventually recovering and graduating from Pratt Institute with a degree in Industrial Design in 1956, he joined the newly formed firm of famous automotive and industrial designer Harley Earl (Harley Earl Associates). That firm later merged into Ford & Earl Design Associates in 1964. During this time, George met his future wife Louise in Chicago and drove back and forth from Detroit until they married. They settled in the Detroit area and had two children, Alexander and Angela. At Ford & Earl, George worked on major projects in Turin, Italy in 1961; Berlin in 1963 and the 1964 New York World’s Fair. He’s also proud to have worked on the ill-fated World Trade Center in NYC and the Renaissance Center in Detroit. But very early in his career he designed a set of toilets for Briggs. Popular in many places, including Cobo Hall, he always liked to joke that we were able to “Piss on his design". George retired in 1992 as Vice President after 36 great years at Ford & Earl and moved with Louise to Scottsdale, Arizona. They enjoyed retired life and travel around Arizona until Angela’s family moved back to Michigan. They then moved to Novi, MI to be closer to their new grandsons. After Louise passed away in 2003, George moved into Fox Run as part of the second group of early residents. Soon he became an active volunteer, first joining the Classical Music Club. He enjoyed working on the the in-house TV news Channel 8, improving the bulletin board and posting a weekly joke. He worked on the Fox Run Village News writing articles about the Veterans. He supported paper recycling and planned trips for the Travel Committee. More than once he served on the R.A.C. (Resident Advisory Council). Most important to George was his support of the Resident Care Fund and The Scholarship Fund for which he set up the first endowment in the name of George and Louise Moy. Becoming one of the biggest advocates for Fox Run, hardly a conversation could be had without him bringing up how wonderful the people and place were to him. He had certainly found his home. Continuing his love for travel, George went on numerous trips, including a Grand European Cruise of the Rhine & Danube rivers; China, Tibet and Hong Kong tours; and an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner. He also went on many family trips including Disney World, California to visit Alex, a return to Hawaii and an Alaskan cruise. Spending his last days in his beloved Fox Run, George is preceded in death by his wife, Louise and leaves behind his children Alexander & Angela (John Duquette) and grandsons Andrew and Rob. Please consider these two Donation sites: Click here to donate Resident Care Fund Purpose: Fox Run is committed to providing quality lifetime care for all its residents, regardless of unforeseen financial hardships. If a resident has abided by their Residence and Care Agreement, they qualify to receive this confidential financial assistance. Through the generosity of residents, families, staff, and corporations, Fox Run provides confidential financial assistance with basic living expenses and medical costs to residents who, despite careful planning, can no longer afford to cover the full cost of their care. Click here to donateScholar's Fund Purpose: Providing financial assistance in the form of undergraduate scholarships toward tuition, books, and fees to the eligible students who work at Fox Run and plan to further their education. The residents at Fox Run have developed a Scholars’ Fund to benefit our student employees working in each restaurant and in various departments throughout the campus. We hold our annual fundraiser generally each spring. Interment will take place at Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, Michigan in the Spring of 2022.

George T.N. Moy

March 9, 1927 - November 11, 2021