HOLYOKE — Dave Moore, a Holyoke legend widely known as “the face of Mount Tom,” died peacefully after a brief illness on Feb. 25 at the age of 78, but memories of his giving spirit will live on in his friends and family, and in the many lives he has touched through his lasting impacts on the city.
“He could connect with people like no one I have ever met,” said his wife, Carol Moore. “He gave unconditionally, he loved unconditionally.”
Carol and Dave Moore got married in 1998, and Dave Moore became the father of Carol’s then 14-year-old son, Jeff. Carol said that Dave Moore was an “amazing father,” and that she is “incredibly grateful” for the time that they got to spend together “even though it was too short.”
Carol Moore described her late husband as a “humanitarian,” who gave pieces of himself to his community without any expectation of receiving anything in return.
“He sort of could intuit when somebody needed help,” she said. “He had a knack for finding potential in people.”
Dave was perhaps best known throughout the city for the many skiing and other outdoor recreation opportunities he brought to the area through the Mount Tom Ski Area. He began his tenure at Mount Tom in the ticketing office, but quickly advanced through various roles until he was promoted to general manager and vice president, where he oversaw the management and expansion of the area for almost two decades, including the installation of summer recreation infrastructure like water slides, so people could enjoy Mount Tom even without snow.
Moore’s nephew, Dave Hunter, made many of his fondest memories alongside his uncle at Mount Tom, where his passion for the ski industry was sparked. Hunter credits much of his current success as a local ski industry leader in Steamboat, Colorado to the passion that Moore imparted on him.
“Just his passion for the place and the community and doing the right thing was what Dave was all about,” Hunter said of his uncle. He said that “that passion passed through to me in a very direct way,” and that his uncle was “an incredible mentor all the way to the end.”
Moore was often a tough mentor, making Hunter earn his keep at Mount Tom by giving him his first job as a young teenager, where he would bus tables and pick up cigarette butts in return for his season pass. But that tough love was what made Mount Tom a success, and what inspired Hunter to make a lifelong career for himself in the ski industry. Hunter looked up to how his uncle would make snow sports accessible to so many kids in the community, often touting the adage “no one rides the bench” in skiing and snowboarding.
“He was the face of Mount Tom,” Hunter mused, recalling how even in the off season, Moore would take long walks around the ski area with his dogs.
Moore’s impact on the winter sports community extends far beyond Mount Tom as well. Moore worked with former Sen. Ted Kennedy to develop various ski safety bills across the country, and was also invited as one of a select group of ski area operators to represent the U.S. ski industry at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
Moore could also frequently be seen co-hosting a popular ski report segment on Channel 22 News, or driving around the city sporting his iconic “SKI TOM” license plate.
But Moore’s reach was not confined to the ski industry. When Mount Tom Ski Area closed permanently in 1998, Moore launched a second career in real estate, and played a key role in the restoration of the former Holyoke Catholic High School buildings in downtown Holyoke, which were converted into the Chestnut Park Apartments.
“If you walk down High Street, you can see the imprint that Dave left on downtown,” said Holyoke City Treasurer Rory Casey, who knew Moore through his work throughout the city. “He was somebody who took pride in the city all the way from its highest point, Mount Tom, all the way down to its canal systems that he helped manage.”
Casey remarked that Holyoke now feels like a “poorer city with his loss.”
Moore also served in various local positions, including in the city’s Department of Public Works and most recently as a member of the Whiting Street Reservoir Study Committee.
“He was the voice not only of Mount Tom but of Holyoke,” said Moore’s friend of more than 25 years, Harry Craven. “Even if you didn’t know him, you’re going to miss him.”
Craven recalled going for walks around the reservoir with Moore — and usually at least one of Moore’s dogs — and talking about anything and everything.
“He just knew what to say to lighten your day,” said Craven.
City Council President Tessa Murphy-Romboletti got to know Moore about 15 years ago through his work with the city, and greatly respected his work both serving on municipal boards and rehabbing the Holyoke Catholic High School.
“He had such a wealth of knowledge on the history of Holyoke … he really saw Holyoke in all of its different eras,” said Murphy-Romboletti, who added that Moore embodied the community and kindness that make so many people in the city love Holyoke.
“It will be a huge void in Holyoke not seeing him downtown,” she said.
A celebration of Dave Moore’s life will be held in the spring. For Moore’s obituary or to send condolences, visit the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home website.
Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.