Margaret Moum

Margaret R. Moum, 99, known to all of her friends as "Billie", passed away quietly on October 4, 2015. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Wilhelm Moum. Billie led a rich and varied life. She was born on January 8, 1916, in Maryville, Missouri, to J. Ray and Lulu E. Davis as the second of four sisters. She grew up in the Midwest, principally in Kansas City, Missouri; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Chicago, Illinois. She met and married Harold Moum in 1938, while working at the U.S. Army Base in Sparta, Wisconsin. They had two sons. Throughout their married lives, she and Harold lived and worked in Madison, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; and Washington, DC. They moved to Spartanburg in 1983. While music and her family were always important parts of her life, Billie also enjoyed a varied work career. She was an executive secretary, bookkeeper, Assistant Director of the National Poultry Butter and Egg Association of Chicago, Administrative Assistant in a Commodities Future Brokerage, and the Credit Manager of the Sheraton-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC. A recognized pianist, composer, and teacher, Billie began studying music at the age of four. She loved directing choirs and did so in Chicago and Kansas City. Around 1950, she started composing in the Classical style for piano solo and two pianos and eventually expanded her talents to include compositions for the cello, the flute, and the violin. All of them were difficult and, as she admitted one day, she doubted she could play them. She attended the University of Missouri at Kansas City, DePaul University in Chicago and studied composition with Madame Nadia Boulanger in Fontainebleau, France in 1960. Her compositions have been played at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, at venues in Chicago, and for the Spartanburg Philharmonic. She also occasionally lectured at the Philharmonic and tried to be as active a member as her health allowed. She was ordained in 1972 by the National Spiritual Science Church of Washington, DC. She helped develop and ultimately taught in the 4-year school of the Washington Spiritual Science Center. Upon her arrival in Spartanburg, she established the Carolina Spiritual Science Center and its 4-year school, which flourishes and continues today. Billie was an avid reader and was always most at home surrounded by her beloved books. She also loved to crochet and to talk about her sons (Number 1 and Number 2) and their families. She was a dear person, able to talk on almost any subject in an articulate and educated fashion. She was an inspiration to many, and will be sorely missed by her family and her many friends throughout the country. She is survived by her two sons, Jerry Davis Moum of Williamsburg, Virginia and his wife, Barbara; Gene Keith Moum of Columbia, Missouri and his wife, Glenda; her sister, Glenna Luca of Spartanburg; seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Floyd's North Church Street Chapel To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Margaret R. Moum please visit our Sympathy Store.