Parker Moore is remembered by Linfield students and faculty as someone who had a positive and warm attitude toward everyone he met.
The death of the sophomore Linfield student, football player, resident advisor and friend has had a profound impact on Linfield as a whole.
“I loved him as a brother,” said a Linfield football player. “Not a day will go by that I won’t miss and remember him. He was the best guy I’ve ever met.”
The positive effect Moore had on his friends is the primary focus of students’ remembrances.
“Even though Parker is gone, he would want us all to keep moving forward with positive attitudes and to keep our heads up,” sophomore Riley Rediger said.
Moore’s welcoming attitude and smiling face are qualities Rediger remembers fondly from the days they used to play on the Linfield football team together.
“Never once did I see a frown on Parker’s face. We were both linebackers so I spent hours with him every day and I can honestly say he is one of the most genuine men I know. Anyone who knows him would agree with that,” he said.
Rediger, along with countless other Linfield students, expressed remembrance for Moore’s warm demeanor.
“His smile was contagious and whenever you saw him you couldn’t help but smile,” Rediger said. “He not only impacted Linfield but, the whole state. Every single post on Facebook is about Parker, so that must say something about his impact.”
“I personally can say my life would never be the same without Parker. The fact that he is gone is hard, but I know he is smiling down on us,” he said.
Moore had a way of encouragingly affecting each person he came across in life, according to students who knew him.
“The man went out of his way to make sure everyone was having a good day and someone to talk to,” a good friend of Moore’s said. “He would never walk past I don’t know how else to word it other than he was just a bro… a special human for sure.”
Friends of Moore remember him as a caring individual.
“Parker had a sort of positive light that touched every person he met,” Rediger said. “I have never seen someone smiling at 5 o’clock during a freezing, morning football practice like I did with Parker. He loved football, Linfield, his friends and his family.”
Since Moore’s passing, the football team has met to discuss how they will proceed from here, having lost a teammate and friend.
“I think the football team is trying to move on with positivity just like the other teams, staff and students are,” Rediger said. “Parker would want this time not to be of mourning but a time to celebrate his life and reflect on all the ways he impacted our lives.”
Rediger added that some of the most genuine, heart-felt conversations he has ever had were those he shared with Moore.
“He will be missed by not only me but by everyone his life touched,” Rediger said. “20 is too young for my best friend to be taken from me. The world works in strange ways.”
“This is one of those times where I don’t understand why things happen, but Parker is up in heaven looking down on us all. I miss you buddy…until we meet again, rest well Parker Archie Moore,” he said.
Moore made a difference in the lives of each student he knew at Linfield.
“He was the nicest man on campus, plain and simple,” a good friend of Moore’s said.
Moore’s professors also remember him fondly.
“Parker was fine student with great potential,” Thomas Mertes, Linfield competitive scholarship coordinator, said. “He was unassumingly intelligent and insightful as well as warm and outgoing. He will be sorely missed at Linfield.”
Mertes taught Moore in an INQS class last fall.
“The world too has lost a talented and sensitive young man,” Mertes said. “I will miss him, too. I cannot imagine how his family and close friends feel at this moment.”
Moore will be missed by everyone in the Linfield community.
“He was one of my best friends,” Rediger said. “I did everything from playing football every day with him and skiing at Hood. For anyone that knew Parker they would agree that he was one of the most caring, genuine and humble young men you could ever meet. I will always cherish the memories I have with him.”