King Solomon, the reputed author of the Book of Proverbs, addresses Chapter 31, verses 10-31, to the ideal woman. Now no woman could ever live up to the description found in this text, but if King Solomon had known Rene Moore, I am sure he would have dedicated his ode to the Ayshet Hayil, the woman of valor, to Rene. But you will have to judge for yourself.

Rene was born Irene Jacobson on February 13, 1925, in Pittsburgh, PA. Her parents were Henry and Lillian, known affectionately as Libby. Rene had one younger sibling by 13 months, Skippy. The sisters went through childhood dressed as twins because they were so close in age. Henry, their father, was a man of considerable talent but because of his fierce independence, had to be his own boss. He would pass down both his business acumen and his independent streak on to his daughter Rene (“his only son”). Henry made his livelihood selling punchboards, a forerunner of the lottery system. He would eventually sell his business, create “HLJ”, (for Henry and Libby Jacobson), buy apartments in Oakland, strategically located between the University of Pittsburgh and Camegie Tech, and retire to Florida.  By the time she was in her 20's, Henry left the running of those apartments to Rene.

Rene grew up in a Jewish home. She went to Jewish Sunday school as a girl and enjoyed family Passover seders. She was deliberately raised in non-Jewish neighborhoods yet ironically, she was expected to meet and marry a nice Jewish boy … not an easy task for a girl from the Borough of Dormont. There were many pleasant memories­ from those early years in Dormont, like the fresh vegetables the Jacobson family feasted on from their Victory Garden. In high school she started working at Kauffman's Department store, selling women's hosiery. Sometimes the snow was so thick that coming home, the street trolley couldn't get through to her street, so she would have to get off, take off her unmanageable high heels, and make the trek home in her stocking feet. She was a very good student and got all the way through two years of business school, yet we all believe had she been born twenty years later, she would have gone to a four year university and beyond.

When she was in her mid-twenties, she began running her father's apartments. At that time, in the early 1950'5, she met Donald Thompson. He loved her ferociously. But he was 20 years Rene's senior and not Jewish. Henry and Libby did not approve. But Rene displayed that independent streak which would be her trademark throughout life, and she married him anyways. At that time, there were no signs of the alcoholism or compulsive personality disorder which would later come to undermine their marriage of almost 25 years. Another hallmark quality of Rene's was her sense of duty and care. She dutifully took care of Bubbie, Henry's mother, and she took care of Donald as well.

Even when they divorced, Rene found him an apartment, secured his financial situation, bought him a new tv, and a new set of clothes. In time Donald would sober up and end up managing the very apartments which Rene had located for him to live. Had Rene not interceded when she did, Donald would surely have ended up in the street. The story reads like a modified version of Frank Capra's movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," with Rene playing Jimmy Stewart's role.

The best thing to come out of her marriage with Donald was their wonderful son, Jeff, who was born in 1953, in Pittsburgh.  She worked for that baby, hospitalized for several months before the birth, and even then Jeff was born premature. Rene instilled that sense of independence which she learned from her father into her son. Jeff remembers his mother working two jobs to make ends meet, so young Jeff took on many of the duties of managing the household, and help with managing the apartments. Rene had her day job working as bookkeeper for her brother-in-law, Buzzy's store Dormont Appliance Center, and all her other waking hours which she poured into the running of her father's apartments. In lean times Rene kept her family going on 19 cent Kraft dinners and a concoction of macaroni, meat and tomato sauce (called “Mommy’s Mess”). But Jeff also remembers his mother's lokshen noodle koogle, stuffed peppers, cheese-filled blintzes, and the recipe for rice pudding from his grandmother Libby, alas, without the all-important special glass for measuring out the ingredients.

Jeff remembers one story in particular from childhood which says much about Rene's values. It seems Jeff had a friend with whom he spent time. A neighbor gave the friend a nickel and because Jeff was standing next to him, the man gave Jeff a nickel as well. When Rene found out about it, she took Jeff back to the neighbor and had Jeff return the nickel. The neighbor refused, saying he could afford it. Rene answered, "Maybe you can afford it, but my son can't." That lesson of independence and not taking things that you did not earn stayed with Jeff

The other lesson Rene taught Jeff was the importance of caring for others. It seems that Rene was plagued with a bad back, resulting in three spinal operations, and often turned to Jeff for help. By Rene turning to her young son, Jeff learned that he had the ability to help others. That lesson also stayed with Jeff for the rest of his life.

Rene made sure that Jeff had a quality education. When Rene tried to get Jeff into one of the better high schools in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, and was refused because they lived in Oakland, in one day Rene found a home for them in Squirrel Hill so that Jeff could attend the better high school.

Jeff's informal education, helping his mom manage the apartments was just as useful.  By following the carpenters, plumbers and electricians around the building, Jeff acquired a whole host of skills. Today Jeff is known as "Mr. Neighborhood" because he will help his neighbors with a1l sorts of projects. And he has used his mother's sense of independence and business acumen to run his own business, Merlin Graphics. Rene was also a good friend to Jeff, speaking to him frankly about the taboo subjects of  "sex, drugs and alcohol", and giving him wonderful, honest advice. Later in life, when a college counselor recommended that Jeff move out of the house, Rene reconfigured her home so that Jeff would have his own space and independence, while avoiding the impossible expense of paying a second rent.

Rene also insured that Jeff had a good Jewish education, beginning with an Orthodox rabbi and culminating in a bar mitzvah at the Hebrew Academy in Squirrel Hill. The bartender at his bar mitzvah party was graduate student Jim Moore, the man Rene would ultimately marry.

Rene met Jim the year before her son's bar mitzvah, in 1964. Along with two roommates, Jim was one of the Camegie Tech grad students who rented the upstairs flat above Rene, in the apartment complex which she managed. On their first meeting, Jim, with his suitcases from California still in the hall, Jim struck up a conversation with Rene over coffee in her apartment. They talked about everything under the sun. That conversation lasted all the way until sunrise the next morning. They continued to enjoy each other's friendship all the way through Jim's graduate program and through his post doc program. Rene even typed Jim's two-inch thick doctorate on Artificial Intelligence without having any idea what the subject was about -- it was very complicated.

Rene's business acumen and intelligence were legendary. For 15 years she served as bookkeeper for Dormont Appliance Center. Simultaneously she ran her father's apartments, and even managed to master the art of contracting to ensure that a new heating system would be installed, outsmarting the original, patronizing contractor who had managed to arrange that each unit would be heated, but as Rene pointed out, forgot to see to the heating of the basement, hallways and stairwells.

Her next job was working for the Pittsburgh Credit Bureau in collections. Her job included reading through a script whose ultimate goal was to obtain a promise from the debtor of future payment. But in typical Rene style, she would deviate from the script, telling people not to make promises they couldn't keep. She then would give them unsolicited financial credit counseling over the phone, ensuring not just a promise but actual payment of debt. Through her compassion and independence, she earned a the first double bonus ever awarded, for highest successful collections.

Moving from success to success, her next position was in a powerful office position for W. T. Grant, a long-since departed department store. Her conditions were no miniskirts, and as much coffee and cigarettes as needed. Her success in this position landed her most important job in her career, Office Manager of Schaffer Inc., a provider of wholesale small appliances. She managed a staff of about a dozen, and signed checks of upwards of half a million dollars. Rene said that “If I had ever written a check with enough money in the bank to cover it, I would have been fired.”  Her skill involved factoring – borrowing money at the­ precise moment when it would be needed, from the New York investors to cover the short-term loans in Pittsburgh. Whenever she showed up at the Pittsburgh bank, it was expected that Rene would park in the executive parking, and the mucky-mucks (known as ganza machers in Yiddish) would always take her out to lunch. Rene was powerful. But she was not so powerful and full of herself that she did not make time to drive old man Schaffer, the company's founder, to and from the office each day, and later to be a source of encouragement and a frequent visitor when he moved to a convalescent home.

So why would Rene leave such a wonderful position of power, influence, where she was so successful? Only one word: love.  Jim Moore, upon completing his post-doc in Pittsburgh in 1973, was offered a wonderful job working for USC, in computer research on linguistics over in the Trizec Towers in Marina del Rey. Without any thought of marriage or long-term commitment, Jim thought his move back west would spell the end of his relationship with Rene. Also Rene was 20 years Jim's senior. Well Jim got it all wrong. Rene said, "There is nothing keeping me here," and for the girl who had never lived anywhere but Pittsburgh, like the biblical Sarah who gave up everything in her hometown of Ur to follow her Abraham to the Promised Land, Rene said goodbye to family, friends, and a successful business position to follow her Jim.

Jim’s mother did not approve of Rene, due in large part to the age difference. In a striking exhibit of human relations savvy, Rene turned to her future mother-in-law and said, “You know, Jane, I don't know much about planning weddings, could we have the wedding in your home and would you be in charge of the details?” Jim remembers that it was a stroke of brilliance. Not only did it show respect to her soon-to-be mother -in-law, but it also put her in charge so she had buy-in. Jim and Rene were married in 1976, with a justice of the peace presiding, and a happy mother-in-law in charge of all the details. Jim credits Rene with rehabilitating his wardrobe, his taste in music, (as reflected in the music played when you entered the chapel this afternoon) and most importantly, his social skills. The pianist, (George Feyer) was a personal favorite of Rene and Jim.

Upon moving out to Ca1ifomia, she soon realized that she could not break up her Jim's relationship with computers, so she decided to join the party. In 1977 she created The Calculating Lady. Her business card reads; "consulting, tutoring, publishing, hand-­holding, website creation and management for the computationally impaired". The artwork for the card is a feminized-version of Rodin's “The Thinker” in profile, with Rene serving as the glamorous silhouetted model. On the occasion of her 75th birthday, by Senate Resolution, State Senator Debra Bowen recognized Rene for her business, praising her for "teaching local senior citizens about computers and assisting community residents in communicating via e-mail with their grandchildren."

The high point in Rene's life was her appointment to lecture in one of the oldest universities in the world, Tainjin University in the People's Republic of China in September, 1983. Rene was friends with C. Y. Lee who wrote the book which became the wonderful musical, "Flower Drum Song." Lee knew that his native China desperately needed to catch up after the devastating Culture Revolution, and thought that Rene along with Jim could really make a difference. He used his personal contacts to make the Tainjin invitation a reality. Imagine Rene's thrill when she saw the sign, all in Chinese, except for her name, heralding her upcoming lectures. Her subject was business applications of computers, and her students included captains of industry, graduate students and faculty members. All this from a woman who taught herself how to use a computer from a complicated instruction manual!

Rene's involvement in her community has made her a precious part of Marina del Rey/Villa Marina life. I personally met her as a fellow supporter of the Playa Vista project. We both felt that this new community would do much to enhance life in this area of Los Angeles. In addition, Rene underwent special training with the Los Angeles Fire Department's Emergency Response Team, and earned their coveted badge and green helmet. Although she did not like to visit the doctor’s office, she was a primary force behind the Save Our Marina Hospital campaign. If it were not for her monumental effort along with other like-minded residents, the Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital would have been closed back in May of last year. Rene is responsible for the saving of many lives of local residents who had a hospital close by, to see to their needs. As rabbi of the local Westchester congregation of B'nai Tikvah, I owe Rene a huge debt of thanks for all the times I was able to visit and care for my local congregants because they were able to get help at Daniel Freeman right here in the Marina, a mere 7 minute drive from my home.

Even closer to home, Rene was helping to reorganize and democratize the Villa Marina Council. State Senator Bowen honored Rene’s work in Villa Marina. The State Senator recognized her efforts to improve communication among the 685 home owners through a newsletter, her efforts as Treasurer to create a bookkeeping system she made available to all 18 Villa Marina Council member associations, and for creating day-long seminars on condominium management, which she offered gratis in order to ensure that the business affairs of the community were handed in an efficient and highly professional manner, attended by more than 100 newly-elected Board members. Finally, Senator Bowen, in her Resolution, wrote: "Rene Moore is genuinely respected, admired, and appreciated by all who have had the opportunity to know and work with her and to reap the benefits of her exceptional volunteer spirit and devotion to making a difference in her community."

So if you­ were to ask her husband, Jim, or her son Jeff, or any of you in the community, you would all have to agree that when King Solomon wrote his ode to the Woman of Valor, some 3,000 years ago, he must have had a bit of prophecy in him. It is clear that he was describing our own Rene Moore -may her memory be for a blessing and inspire us all to do good deeds in our community in her name.