Beverly Lemley Moore, known to most as "Gov" Moore, died Tuesday, March 29th, surrounded by his family. He was 83 years old. Gov was the only child of William Oscar and Zenta Lemley Moore. He was born on December 8, 1927, in Austin, Texas, where his father was a professor at the University of Texas. His parents were both native Iowans, however, and during the years of the Great Depression, they returned home to Seymour, Iowa. It was here that Gov spent most of his childhood, farming with his family. At a young age, he was baptized in the Seymour Baptist Church. During his teenage years, he drove a tractor to Seymour High School where he graduated in 1945. On June 19th, 1949, Gov married his high school sweetheart, Colleen Ann Lockridge. At the time of his death, Gov and Colleen had been married nearly 62 years. Rarely seen apart, they have been a constant source of strength for each other as they raised their family and built numerous businesses together. Gov and Colleen have four children: the late Max Lee, who died in May of 2000, Jon William, Craig Allen, and Kathleen Ann, all of Madill, Oklahoma. During the early years of their marriage, Gov continued working on the Moore family farm, a farm that has now been in the family for 139 years. On the 320 acre farm, he and Colleen raised row crops, Hereford cattle, and ran a substantial hog operation. In the early 1960s they opened Farmer's Feed & Supply in Seymour. Because his mother was widowed young, Gov took great care and responsibility for her throughout her life. Until her death in 1994, they remained extremely close, and Gov was very attentive to her needs. As a young man, Gov demonstrated a keen sense for machinery; when faced with a machine that wasn't necessarily meeting the needs of the farm, Gov would invent something that did. He developed header controls for combines and grain circulators, to name a couple. He was an idea man and a creative problem-solver, a talent he would utilize consistently throughout his life. In the mid-sixties, after several small business ventures, Gov partnered with his brother-in-law, Bob Lockridge, and started Farm Equipment Manufacturing. It was here that he first developed and manufactured a combination fence panel. This business grew and thrived and in time, included a small steel melt shop. Eventually coming to be known as Iowa Steel & Wire, it was sold in 1974 and reacquired in 1988. Gov frequently traveled to investigate and develop his ideas. He spent a great deal of time in the steel mills of Pennsylvania and developed many life-long friendships with the people he met there. In the late 1970s, Gov often traveled to Limonsin cattle shows around the country. During one of these trips, he met Hal Courtney who informed him of an empty manufacturing facility that was available in Southern Oklahoma. In 1979, Gov and Bob used the proceeds from the sale of the Iowa business to purchase the property in Madill where Oklahoma Steel & Wire now operates. Oklahoma Steel & Wire opened for business in 1979, operating with one machine---the Renco---and five employees. Family-run from the beginning, Oklahoma Steel & Wire has grown to be a more integrated facility, and this was in large part due to Gov. Throughout its growth over the last 30 years, Gov was always thinking about the next big project. He had a great ability to anticipate what the company would need before the need arose and develop the means for providing these things practically and economically. He had a very strong work ethic, continuing to come to work every day until two weeks ago. Primarily because he thrived on coming up with new ideas and working closely with his family, he never considered retirement an option. His passion and vision carried through until his death. There were no impossibilities in Gov's mind; there were only challenges to creatively overcome. Not all of Gov's endeavors were successful; some weren't. However, he learned as much, perhaps more, from his failures as he did from his successes. He wasn't afraid of making mistakes; one just had to learn from them and then move on. And move on he did, with bigger and more complicated projects. In 2004, Mid-American Steel & Wire became a reality as the construction of a rolling mill was completed. Most recently, in January of this year, Gov, along with his family, got to see their biggest project to date come to fruition when the steel mill became operational. Known for his inquisitive and investigative mind, Gov was a life-long learner. He was driven to be informed about everything, from business and machinery to politics and economics. He was always reading and it wasn't uncommon to find him researching something that had come up in conversation with his family, friends, or business associates. He never met a stranger and loved to talk and debate. Above all else, Gov cherished his family and was deeply involved in their lives. He leaves behind a wealth of friends and family who dearly loved and respected him. Gov's survivors include: his wife Colleen Moore of Madill. Children: Jon Moore of Madill, Craig and Freda Moore of Madill, Kathleen Moore of Madill, and daughter-in-law, Patricia Moore, widow of Max L. Moore, of Sadler, TX. Grandchildren are: Sarah Moore of Austin, TX, Rachel and Michael Hinsley of Sadler, TX, Elissa and Joey Cantrell of Pottsboro, TX, Ethan Moore, Ty Moore, Trey Moore, Cole Moore, Jacob Moore, and Becca Moore, all of Madill. Great grandchildren are: Max, Jack, and Ali Hinsley and Benji Cantrell. Gov was preceeded in death by his parents, William and Zenta, and his son, Max L. Moore Pall Bearers are Bob Cole, Jerry Standridge, Lou Richards, Dale Housh, Steve Lawrence, John Glenn, Jim Murphy, and Brad Scott. Honorary pall bearers are all of Gov's grandchildren and great grand children. Memorial In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parkinson's Foundation in memory of B.L. Moore. https://www2.parkinson.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=745