Deceased September 3, 2019

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In Memory

Alva Moog died on Sept. 3 at age 89, from complications following hip surgery. He is survived by Jean, his wife of 64 years, three of their five children and 10 grandchildren.

He was raised in St. Louis and came to Amherst in 1947 from the St. Louis Country Day School. He was a member of Beta. We might recall Alva best for his work as business manager of the Amherst student newspaper.

After college he returned to his hometown, worked at family-owned Serta Royal Bedding Co. and became owner in 1959, a position he held until he sold that very successful business in 2007.

Along the way, Jean founded and managed on a daily basis the Moog Center for Deaf Education. With his business skills, Alva became chairman of the board and the school’s financial and business manager. The Moog Center teaches deaf children to talk and offers services for deaf children from birth through second grade. At age 6 or 7, most have the skills to be full participants with their hearing peers.

Alva was also a director of the Wyman Center (no relation to our Tom), a charitable organization that offers to fund supplementary educational opportunities for financially disadvantaged high school students attending St. Louis schools. In our 35th reunion book, Alva referred to himself as a “mattress stuffer” with a wife and daughter who teach young deaf children how to talk! No doubt Alva did his part in a wonderful family enterprise.

Everett E. Clark ’51, with input from Jean Moog