THREE FORKS, Montana - Broadwater County Deputy Sheriff Mason Palmer Bethea Moore, 42, was killed Tuesday, May 17, 2017, while serving in the line of duty.
Born May 8, 1975, in Manning, he was a son of Nebraska E. Moore II and MaryAnne Grayson Moore. He attended Clarendon Hall for elementary school and graduated from Manning High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Western Carolina University.
Moore married the love of his life, Jodi Woods, on May 22, 1999, in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina. Mason’s love for family and friends and his desire to make a difference in his community drove him to dedicate his life to public service.
Moore served as a law enforcement officer for the University of South Carolina Police Department, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office, the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office, Motor Carrier Services of Bozeman, Montana, and the Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office.
He also served as a volunteer firefighter for Central Valley Fire Department in Belgrade, Montana and the Three Forks Fire Department in Three Forks.
Moore grew up attending Summerton Baptist Church. He had a deep and personal relationship with God. Mason and his family are an active part of the Bridge Church family in Belgrade.
Mason loved hunting and hiking. He was a family man; his family was most important to him. His loving bear hugs were legendary. He loved and adored his family and friends and we loved and adored him.
We will carry him and his love in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
Survivors include his wife, Jodi of Three Forks; his twin sons, Chase Mason Moore and Cole Woods Moore, both of Three Forks; his daughter, Branna Kaycee Carey Moore of Three Forks; his parents, Nebraska E. Moore II and MaryAnne Grayson Moore of Summerton; and a brother, Nebraska E. Moore and his wife, Stephanie, of Summerville.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Archie Bethea Grayson, James Grayson Jr., Kathleen Moore and Ned Moore; an uncle, ATF Special Agent James Grayson III; and a great-aunt, Judge Thomasine Grayson Mason.
Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Monday, May 29, 2017, at the home of his parents, 1664 Jack Touchberry Road, in Summerton.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 30, 2017, at Summerton Baptist Church, 215 E. Main St. in Summerton. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The service will be live-streamed at Clarendon Hall, 1140 S. Dukes St. in Summerton, and at the Summerton Cultural Arts Center, 12 S. Church St. in Summerton.
Memorials may be made in his name to Opportunity Bank, 416 Brooadway St., Townsend, MT 59644; Stockman Bank, 3094 N. Sanders St., Helena, MT 59601; the Bridge Church, N. 608 Jackrabbit Lane, Belgrade, MT 59714; and the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, 34 W. 6th Ave., No. 25, Helena, MT 58601.
Stephens Funeral Home and Crematory, 304 N. Church St. in Manning, is in charge of arrangements, (803) 435-2179.
