When the time comes to bid this life farewell, we should find comfort in knowing that a loving God will be there with us to guide us to our new home.

Lemuel Moody, Jr., the second of seven children, was born on November 26, 1938, in the Jackson District of Louisa County, Virginia, in an area lovingly known as Elk Creek. He was the son of Lemuel Moody Sr. and Rosa Virginia Fountain Moody of Clifton Forge, Virginia. He was also the grandson of Gilbert Moody of Louisa County and Elvira Shelton Moody of Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

Before his marriage to Rosa, Lemuel Sr. was wed to Ruth Thompson of Spotsylvania, Virginia, and from that union came one child, Victoria Thompson.

Lemuel Jr., began his schooling in a two-room schoolhouse, Plum Tree Elementary School, in Louisa County. He later continued his education at Louisa Training School in the town of Louisa.

At just fifteen years old, Lemuel moved from Louisa County to Washington, D.C., to live with his aunt, Bessie Moody Deshields, on 10th Street. While living there, he attended Roosevelt High School. He briefly lived in North Philadelphia with his half-sister, Victoria Thompson Williams, before returning to Washington, D.C.

Rooted in a childhood spent working on the family farm, Lemuel carried a powerful work ethic throughout his life. His father was one of the few Black tobacco farmers in the Elk Creek community, and all the Moody children learned the craft of cultivating tobacco. Lemuel’s cousin, mentor, and protector, Henry Spurgeon Moss II, expanded his world by taking him—and many other country boys—to work on the Atlantic City Boardwalk each summer.

In the early 1950s, while living in Washington, D.C., Lemuel worked as a shoe salesman at The Beck Shoe Store and also served as a store detective. Upon moving to California, he built a long and steady career as a stevedore at Todd Shipyard in San Pedro, where he eventually retired.

In 1956, Lemuel was drafted during the Korean War era but was later rejected, possibly due to a forehead scar. In 1957, however, he was mustered into the U.S. Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia. He served primarily stateside—in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and California—while also spending time in Osaka, Japan, and Seoul, Korea, before being honorably discharged in 1961.

During his youth, Lemuel was known by the nickname “Hitler”—a name whose origins no one can fully recall, though many associate it with the year surrounding his early childhood and the world events of that time. His closest lifelong companions were his cousins Spurgeon Moss III (Jim Moss) and Jean Moss Holland Beck, who affectionately called him “Hootley,” perhaps a gentler spin on his childhood nickname.

While living in Washington, D.C., Lemuel met and fell deeply in love with Deloris Maxine Miller of Chandler, Oklahoma. They married in 1961, and in 1963 they moved to California, where they built a family of eleven children, ten of whom survived.

Lemuel was preceded in death by his parents, Lemuel Moody Sr. and Rosa Virginia Fountain Moody; his brothers Martin Allen Moody, Eddie James Moody, and William Emmett Moody; his half-sister Victoria Thompson Williams; and his children Andre Moody and Debra Starr Moody.

He leaves to cherish his memory: Two brothers: Norman Lee Moody (Capitol Heights, MD), Rufus Randal Moody (Fredericksburg, VA) One sister: Yvonne Moody Washington (Spotsylvania, VA).

His children: Lemuel Moody III, Robert Earl Moody, Angel Moody, Matthew Moody, Renee Moody, Diane Moody, Karen Moody, Isaac Moody, and Rebecca Moody (his twin children) Grandchildren: 21 Great-grandchildren: 14.

He also held a special and tender devotion to two grandchildren who brightened his days and filled his heart with joy: Ayanna Shine and Desia Buckner.

Lemuel Moody, Jr., will be remembered as a man shaped by resilience, hard work, deep family roots, and unwavering loyalty. His legacy lives on through the generations he helped shape, the values he instilled, and the love he carried through every chapter of his journey.

To the Moody family, we at D. D. Watson offer our most sincere sympathy and condolences. Our prayer continues to be that your abiding faith in God will lend to you a measure of comfort that will strengthen and sustain you during your time of sorrow.

It is during such times as these that we draw upon our faith, stand upon our scriptures, and rely upon our God. There is no question that in this and through this, God will keep you, comfort you, and sustain you. You and your family are forever in our prayers.