Don Bazil Moffatt

Don Bazil Moffatt, 97, of Webster Springs passed away on May 26, 2023, in Summersville. He was born on May 22, 1926, in Bolair to Lelah Belle and William Gratton Moffatt. 

He was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Opalene Stella Moffatt, whom he married on June 10, 1951, in Webster Springs. Together they had 9 children.

Don believed in hard work, an ethic that started at the age of 10 when he worked on Pete Barbe’s farm. He also had fond memories of working at the Webster Springs theater. He retired from Spring Ridge Coal Company in Bolair, where he and son Terry ran the end loader.

Don often palled around with brother-in-law Breeze Underwood, making deliveries to just about every house in Webster County for Cutlip’s Department Store. He loved calling to check in on his friends and he was an expert at disguising his voice when answering his phone. 

Don was a talented whistler.  He could whistle a tune so loud you could hear him coming a mile away.  His children used that to their advantage.  They’d scramble to clean up when they heard “the whistle” coming up the road. 

Don loved trying out his riddles with every new visitor to his home. Until recently, you could find him much of the time with a seek-a-word puzzle in one hand and the TV remote in the other.

He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Webster Springs and the Webster Springs Volunteer Fire Department, and a lifetime member of the VFW.

Don proudly served in the Army during WWII, and was stationed in Narsarsuaq, Greenland.  He loved to tell stories about his time there and he longed to go back.

In addition to his wife, Don was preceded in death by his infant son Don Duane Moffatt, daughter Janet Tenney of Exchange, granddaughter Kristina Swecker of Cleveland, W. Va., brothers Denzil and Daniel Moffatt and sisters Daisy Woodard, Doris Shaver, and Dale Correa.

Don is survived by his son Terry (Charlotte) Moffatt of Webster Springs; son Gary Moffatt of Webster Springs; daughter Judy (Willard) Anderson of Hacker Valley; son-in-law Charlie Tenney of Exchange; daughter Joyce (Phil) Cutlip of Lewisburg; daughter Elizabeth Cochran of Webster Springs; daughter Karen (Jeff) Swecker of Cleveland, W. Va.; daughter Rebecca (Rodney) Bean of Morgantown; siblings Dora Grounds of Webster Springs, Donie Rogers of Arnoldsburg, W. Va. and Dorothy Pawlenko of Cleveland, Ohio; 16 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and 4 great-great grandchildren.

Friends may join the family for visitation on Sunday, May 28, 2023 from 6-8 PM at Dodd & Reed Funeral Home, Webster Springs. Funeral Services to celebrate Don’s life will be held on Monday, May 29, 2023 at 11 AM at the Funeral Home with her sons-in-law: Brother Charles Tenney and Brother Jeff Swecker officiating. Interment with Military Honors will follow at Handschumacher Cemetery, Upperglade.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.doddreedfh.com.

Dodd & Reed Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Moffatt family.