It was almost exactly 11 years ago that I sat in The Ironton Tribune waiting area, an inexperienced college student nervously waiting to be interviewed for an internship position at the newspaper that I had often heard about growing up but really knew very little about.

So, to help calm the butterflies in my stomach, I picked up that day’s edition from the rack in the lobby of the building.

Scanning the headlines and bylines, one phrase kept jumping out at me.

By Teresa Moore. By Teresa Moore. By Teresa Moore. By Teresa Moore.

There were four or five stories on the front page that day and all were written by the same person, a feat that at the time and still today impresses me.

“Wow,” I thought to myself. “This is The Teresa Moore Tribune. She must be a machine.”

It was a few minutes later that I was introduced to the diminutive woman with a wide smile whose amazing productivity seemed out of place coming from someone so small in stature.

Her enthusiasm was quickly evident. As I later learned, it was infectious, too.

Over the years I was always impressed and inspired by Teresa’s journalistic ability, her professionalism and character. She helped guide so many journalists who came through The Tribune’s doors and always she led by example.

With heavy hearts, friends, family and colleagues began to say goodbye Friday to one of the kindest individuals you could ever meet, knowing that she has moved on to a better place.

Teresa Moore battled cancer for more than three years with a dignity, determination and positive spirit that served as an example of the kind of person I want to be.

She didn’t let the disease change who she was and, even at the end, was more concerned for her daughter, Erin, and others than she was herself.

As a testament to how many people she has touched in the community, many have asked what they can do to help. With that in mind, The Tribune will donate to a fund that will be setup in her daughter’s name. Anyone who would like to contribute can send a donation to: The Teresa Moore Memorial Fund, C/O The Tribune, PO Box 647, Ironton, OH 45638.

I am sure I have shared this before, but nothing personifies the fight against cancer like former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano’s speech at ESPN’s inaugural ESPY Awards show in 1993.

Valvano talked for more than 10 minutes about the importance of enthusiasm for life and how the bone cancer he was battling couldn’t touch that.

“Cancer can take away all my physical abilities,” he said to the audience that included very few dry eyes. “It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.”

And that’s how it is for Teresa, too.

In many ways, it is still The Teresa Moore Tribune … and always will be.

 

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Tribune. To reach him, call (740) 532-1445 ext. 24 or by e-mail at mike.caldwell@irontontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCaldwell_IT.