Allan Macrae Moir's Obituary
Allan Macrae Moir was born March 11, 1939 to May and Vinrace Moir in Forestville, California. He passed peacefully at home in Sonoma, California, in the evening hours of Friday, January 9, 2015 with his family by his side.
Allan spent his youth playing with his brother Bart on the banks of the Russian River, farming Gravenstein apples on the family orchard until he moved to Berkeley to attend the University of California. One of his first jobs was at Swan’s department store in Oakland as a buyer.
His sales job from New York Fabrics led to starting his own company, followed by a 25+ years independent sales representative career. His biggest line during that career was with Hi-Fashion, where he covered Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and then eventually Alaska and Hawaii.
Allan led an adventurous life. He was part of the Civil Engineer Corps. He served in the Coast Guard and always remembered going through a Marine style boot camp. In 1967, he ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, following in the footsteps of his hero Ernest Hemingway. Allan was driven by a strong desire for social justice and was active in the student protests in Paris against De Gaulle in 1968, which he carried back to Berkeley upon his return.
In 1970, he married Kathryn Mary Kopriva; they had two sons together, Michael and Alex and raised their family in Oakland, California. Although he was divorced in 1986, Allan loved being a father; he was active in the PTA, even helping to start a “Dad’s Club” at his sons’ school where he chaperoned many field trips and led numerous fundraisers.
Allan delighted in teaching Michael and Alex life skills, including carpentry, fishing, card games, chess, dominos, music and so much more. Most of all, he gave them his unconditional love. In 1987, he bought the family a cabin in Pinecrest, California, where they enjoyed many happy and memorable summers full of campfires, hiking, and movies in the outdoor amphitheater.
In 1991, he lost his home in the Oakland Hills Firestorm and suffered a series of setbacks including a stroke and the loss of his kidney. He was on life-support for eight days and given six months left to live at the time. Many of his loved ones feared they were saying goodbye. But Allan persevered and rehabilitated working on the cabin in his beloved Pinecrest.
In 1999, Allan met the great love of his life, Kathy Ann Miller, and a whole new motivation swept over him. They were married in 2000 in an ocean front ceremony in Carmel, California and happily blended their families into one. They lived in Connecticut and worked in New York for a time before moving to Sonoma in 2003.
In 2006, Allan retired from his career, and Allan enjoyed retirement. He spent every moment with his wife, his sons and their families, his friends, and his grandkids. Allan enjoyed hobbies like golf and driving around in his MG.
In 2014, he celebrated 22 years since he was told he “has six months to live”. And in January, just a week before he passed, he celebrated his 15-year anniversary with Kathy in their favorite place in Carmel.
Allan will be remembered for his generosity, his love for life and for being one of the very finest dads of all time. The number of those who called Allan “Dad” extended beyond just his sons, and the “children of Allan” will all carry him forward in their hearts.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy, his children, Michael and Alex, Kristin and Jesse, daughters-in-law Laura, Aseem and Julia, son-in-law-to-be David, his grandkids Samantha, Harrison and Cooper and numerous extended friends and family who loved him dearly.
“Any man’s life, told truly, is a novel…”
― Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon
In lieu of flowers we suggest donations to the Red Cross in memory of Allan’s gratitude for their
help after the Oakland fire.
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