Our lives are filled with many storms, some you can see coming from a distance… slow and laborious. Others are fast, furious and unexpected. In a flash of lighting and a clap of thunder our lives can be changed forever.
The wreck that claimed the life of Tootie Moore was such a storm.
Brenda Kay Morris Kidd Moore was born in 1945 in Charlotte, NC… A legend in the rodeo world, she competed in the barrel racing and goat tying in the sixties and seventies while traveling with her late ex-husband Buddy Kidd. As a barrel racer she connected with her horses Cement, Buddy, Slick and Strawberry and was a competitor who couldn't be beat. She capped off her contestant career in the Southern Rodeo Association in the 1970s as a Goat Tying Champion. A member of the SRA since its inception she competed as a contestant until 1994. Tootie performed as an event secretary for over forty years. She was loved and respected as a rodeo mom or grandma by countless cowboys and cowgirls. Tootie was a key part of the famed Rockin K Ranch, where she raised her children Jami, Chet and Amie.
Tootie married her high school sweetheart, Adrian Paul Moore, a lifelong friend who has happily shared and treasured the last seventeen years of her life. Tootie was described by friends as a “woman who could do anything”. A Jack of all trades, she had a career with the highway department, ran a “Touch of Silver” accessory store selling beautiful purses, belts, breast collars and head stalls. Her signature horse tack will become treasured heirlooms to her memory. Comforting thoughts of her will return as cowgirls saddle up at rodeos and horse shows for years to come. Memories of her taking entries, working horses at the ranch, herding goats, running a booth at a rodeo, preparing a meal for the multitudes will bring warm thoughts to thousands. The countless tears that were shed with her passing will not overcome the joy that her warm smile brought to everyone that she encountered.
Tootie’s grit and determination can be seen in her sister Traci Morris’s success in the arena, it’s been passed down to her son Chet and grandsons Cory and Tyler Kidd. Her work ethic is emulated in her daughter in law Beth Kidd. Her beauty and poise lives on in daughters Jami and Amie and granddaughters Carson, Cameron and Chloe. Buddy once described her as “A woman who could clean a stall as good as any man.” Described as the “World’s Greatest Cook”, Tyler said the leftovers in grandma Tootie’s fridge was like the end of the rainbow, I’m sure that Adrian and grandsons Chance and Travis would agree.
Tootie’s greatest legacy is in her family. The children she doted on, the grand-babies she adored, the husband, sister, mother and mother in law that she loved and cared for. She lived to care for her family and friends making sure that everyone's needs were met. Tootie was generous with her compassion and her family is extended like the branches on a tree. It branched out to close friends and mere acquaintances. Like the mortar in the rock entrance to the ranch, her love and compassion bound those close to her together. It is a foundation that is solid and will never crumble.
The fury of the recent storms that have encountered this family has left many broken hearts. In the wake of a storm the branches on the tree will seem bent and broken. In time new sprigs of life will emerge and bloom. With the passing of a storm God leaves us a rainbow. His love cascades from Heaven to earth in the brilliant colors and continues to shine each night twinkling from the stars. From Heaven's loft God has given Tootie a better vantage point from which to share her love.
Tom Smith – June 5th, 2010
