Thomas “Tom” Moore of St. Petersburg, formerly of Tampa and Plant City, passed away on February 7, 2025. Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, Tom was a proud Tampa native.
Tom was also a proud public servant, spending 53 years as a devoted employee of Hillsborough County Schools. He started his career in 1969 when, right out of college, he began working as a math teacher at Plant City High School. In just a few short years, and after earning his master’s degree, he became the head of the school’s math department. In 1978, he transferred to the Tampa offices of Hillsborough County Schools and went to work there as the Curriculum Coordinator of Adult School Mathematics, retiring as the Supervisor of Adult and Secondary Education in the early 2000s. He was a recipient of the Supervisor of the Year Award. Shortly after retiring, he returned to the classroom, teaching math at Tampa’s Gary Adult High School. He retired again in 2022.
Tom always welcomed a challenge and was determined to see each of his students succeed. Over the years, many of Tom’s former students stopped him on the street to shake his hand and to thank him for his patience and encouragement while teaching them to do math.
Passionate, Tom was proud of being a part of Tampa’s unique and diverse culture. In his early childhood and with grandparents who worked in Tampa’s cigar industry, Tom formed a strong attachment to Ybor City and, for decades, frequented Ybor City’s stores and restaurants. He could often be found enjoying a Cuban breakfast of café con leche and Cuban toast with colleagues and friends at a popular Ybor City Cuban café.
Tom was musically gifted and, as a teen, played the saxophone in his high school marching band, participating in Tampa’s Gasparilla Parade. Tom loved music and dance and was a patron of the performing arts.
He loved God and Country and was a proud Vietnam veteran. He spent six years in the US Army Reserve. He also spent time as a volunteer sheriff’s deputy serving under Hillsborough County’s highly esteemed Sheriff Walter Heinrich. Tom was a faithful churchgoer and was recently a member of the church council.
Mostly shy and unassuming, Tom paid close attention to the world around him. He spent his entire life seeing dolphins in the Bay but never grew tired of seeing them or ever took the dolphins for granted. He loved Florida wildlife and, in retirement, frequently visited our National Parks. Some of Tom’s last words expressed his love and concern for the Florida black bear and its environment, for public education, and for all of America’s poor and oppressed.
He was a devoted father, husband, and son. Tom Moore was a pillar of strength for his whole family. He will be missed. He is preceded in death by his parents. He leaves behind his wife, his children, his brother, and many loving family members and friends.
