Jerry Elmer Lee Moye

Jerry Elmer Lee Moye, 76, of Omaha, Illinois, passed away at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on March 22, 2019. Moye was born on October 21, 1942 in southern Illinois to farmers Richard and Gladys Moye. He was the older brother of Richard Darrell Moye. He married Emma Ruth Holland of Clinton, SC on July 31, 1965. Growing up, Moye excelled in academics and music. He attended Southern Illinois University where he earned a bachelor's degree (1964) and a master's degree (1965) in English. In college, he served twice as a summer missionary: first in Muncie, IN, where he met his wife Ruth, and second in Honolulu, HI. Moye earned a master's degree in theology and a doctorate in Old Testament from the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY (1972). In 1972, the Moyes were appointed by the Southern Baptist Convention's Foreign Mission Board to serve in Hong Kong and arrived there in 1973. Jerry became a professor at Hong Kong Baptist Seminary and worked to support local churches, including Kowloon City Baptist Church (1973-8) and Zion Baptist Church (I978-1990). In 1993-4, Moye served as a visiting professor at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. The Moyes left the SBC mission board and stayed in Birmingham, supporting their children's transition from high school. From 1994-8 Moye taught at Miles College in Birmingham. In 1998, Moye was invited to return to Hong Kong to teach at the Baptist seminary. Ruth joined him a year later. In addition to teaching, Moye served as a minister at Tsim Sha Tsui Baptist Church and Tai Po International Baptist Church. He was serving in these roles near the time of his death. Jerry Moye passed away in Hong Kong, where he had served God for four decades. He was surrounded by his family and by dozens of current and former parishioners and students who loved him dearly and who were shaped by his passionate teaching and pastoral care. Moye was respected for his command of the Chinese language and customs and for his humility as a servant-leader who dedicated his life to nurturing a locally-led Church in Hong Kong. He is remembered for his eloquence, love of beauty and the arts, including his piano playing, and wonderful sense of humor. Moye is survived by his wife Ruth, his two children Richard Nathan and Laura Esther Moye and his twin grandchildren Anna and Maddox Moye. A memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church in Ridgway, at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2019.  Local announcement furnished by the Vickery Funeral Chapel in Ridgway.