Shonny Moore's Obituary
Obituary for Shonny (Shalamis) Moore
8/5/1929 – 5/8/2025
Shonny Moore (Shalamis Hershfield) passed away on May 8, 2025 at the age of 95. She was born August 5, 1929, just few months before the disastrous stock market crash. Her parents, Samuel and Minnie (Nimer) Hershfield, emigrated from Odessa, Russia to the United States in 1909. Shonny was born in South Haven, Michigan, joining her older sister, Evelyn.
The family soon moved to Chicago where her father’s first job was as a milkman who delivered milk by horse-drawn wagon to houses and apartments in pre-dawn Chicago. Later, with Minnie, they owned Hershfield’s Delicatessen on 55th Street in South Chicago near the University of Chicago. The location was perfect for Shonny. She worked at the deli and attended Roosevelt University. She met the handsome cowboy writer Harold Moore, a student at the University of Chicago, on the beach of Lake Michigan. He was struck by her beauty and her smarts, and she by his handsome western toughness. The two quickly became drawn to each other and were married in 1949 despite opposition from both families. Harold, who preferred the name Hal, quickly got a job teaching English at the University of Iowa, and then at the University of Colorado in Boulder. It was in Boulder that Shonny’s first two children were born, Jeffrey in 1955 and Lisa in 1957. The growing family soon moved to Salt Lake City in 1958, where Hal had accepted a position as a professor of English at the University of Utah. Their third child, Carla, was born there in 1961.
Shonny was a devoted mother and hard-working homemaker. Once Lisa and Jeff had finished high school Shonny went back to work teaching Nursery School and Kindergarten at Rowland-Hall St. Mark’s School, where she was an important and beloved member of the faculty for many years. After Hal retired and the children had all moved away, Shonny and Hal decided to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico. They designed their dream home, including a living room big enough for a grand piano for Shonny to play. They delighted in visits from their grandchildren and enjoyed the New Mexico lifestyle. Sadly, her beloved husband, Hal, passed away in July of 1999. Shonny continued to live in New Mexico until she finally decided in 2010 to move to Walnut Creek, California, to be closer to her daughter, Carla. Shonny had a love of all games and was very competitve. Up until the end of her life she regularly completed the New York Times crossword puzzle. She especially loved card games and was a regular at the Sandia Casino in Albuquerque, where she played poker and often won.
Shonny was an avid reader and a lover of classical music. She took piano lessons and always enjoyed visits from her children. She loved hearing stories from her children about their adventures and she dearly loved all of her grandchildren. She is survived by her son, Jeffrey, his wife Susan, her daughter Lisa and her partner Kenan, and Carla and her husband Ted. Also, her six grandchildren, Nicolas, Jake, Cassidy, Dylan, Henry and Lucy, as well as her great grandchild, Ellis. She was predeceased by her husband Harold, her parents, and her sister Evelyn.
Her family will miss her wonderful presence, her laughter, and her kind and loving nature.
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