Lurene C. Moore

Lurene Consatina Mascaro was born February 23, 1931, in Copperfield, Utah, a company-owned mining town. She was one of thirteen brothers and sisters born to Charles and Caroline Mascaro. Her father, Charles, was a powder monkey for the Kennecott Copper Mines. This meant he set the dynamite charges and ran out before they set off the explosions. Her mother raised thirteen children in a two-bedroom home.

When she was young they moved to Granite and Bingham, Utah, before finally residing in Union, Utah, where she attended Union Elementary School and Union Junior High.

She attended Jordan High School and was a baton twirler in the band, along with her best friend, Emily Gamangasco. We spoke to Emily last week, who lives in Las Vegas.

She said that she and Lurene spent every day together after school at the Paramount Café, where Lurene worked. They would meet their boyfriends and go to the park and play together. She said that Lurene also worked on the weekends at Murray Laundry helping Lurene’s mother fold laundry.

Her best memory of Lurene was after they performed baton twirling at the half time show. Lurene would leave the game and go to the Paramount Café and work while her classmates ate ice cream. She always felt bad that Lurene never got to enjoy after-game socializing because she had to work.

Lurene graduated from high school in 1949 and moved to Washington to live with her brother, Wally. In the summer of 1949 Wally got married. Lurene was a bridesmaid and Wally’s Army buddy, a guy named Joe Moore, was a groomsman.

When she saw Wally’s Army buddy, she thought he was cute and hoped he would ask her out. He was too shy, so she went to the movies with another boy. However, the next night they were all together at a friend’s house playing cards. This Army buddy, Joe, played cards and talked to Lurene all night during a storm. They promised to write to each other and did, for the next few months.

Lurene went home to Utah and told her mother she was in love. Her mother was not happy because he was not Italian. This Army buddy, Joe Moore, wrote a letter to Lurene’s parents and asked if he could marry their daughter. They invited him to come to Utah and he arrived on April 2, 1950. They were married on April 9, 1950.

They moved back to Washington and lived in a rooming house with a coin-operated stove and a community bathroom. In August, 1950, the Army moved them to a little town in central California called Casmalia. She could not live on the Army base, Camp Cook, so she rented a small house that was a converted milking barn near the railroad tracks. On March 16, 1951, their first child, Joe, was born on the army base and lived with her in that converted milking barn.

Soon, Joe was sent to Korea and Lurene moved, with her son Joe Jr., back to Utah to care for Lurene’s mom who had cancer. Lurene’s mom died in 1952.

Her husband, Joe, came back from Korea and worked for Kennecott Copper and Garrett Freightlines. In April, 1954, their daughter Glorianne was born. They tried to save money for a house and sold their car for deposit money. When her husband’s company went on strike, he lost his job. Their deposit money was non-refundable and they had $200 left to their name. They decided to move back to California.

They moved back to Casmalia. Joe Sr. worked in the sugar beet fields and Lurene washed dishes in the Santa Maria Inn. Tiring of the cold, they moved to Southern California because Lurene’s high school friends had gotten them jobs at North American Aviation. Joe Sr. worked nights and Lurene worked days. After more company layoffs Joe Sr. went to work as a milkman so Lurene could stay at home. It was here that their third child, Michael O’Gary Moore, was born on September 5, 1958. It was time for a bigger house.

In February, 1959, they moved to their first and only house in Bellflower. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms! A mansion! According to the records, they bought their house for $9,980.

Both Joe and Lurene were very involved in their children’s lives. Cub Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts, band, choir, dance classes and Cotillion, where their children learned good manners, social graces and how to dance. Lurene was very good about reinforcing those lessons with daily chores, regular lectures and many spankings when her children drifted into bad behavior.

When the children graduated from high school, Joe and Lurene continued to work. Lurene worked for First Bolt as a bookkeeper. When Joe retired from the dairy, he joined her working in the warehouse. They both retired in 1985. They travelled together all over the world with friends and attended practically every school event for their grandchildren. Their grandchildren lived in Florida, Oregon and California. They attended practically every major school to support their family. Always in the front row and always early!

They were very active in the church working on social events, fund raisers and capital improvements. Grandpa continued to sing in the choir. They organized trips to musicals in Long Beach and monthly dinners with all of their friends.

Joe Sr. died in October, 2013. Lurene became more involved in the church by counting donations, volunteering in the church school library and working every year at the church festival. She was celebrating her 59th year in the church this past year. She also learned how to use an IPAD and continued to drive until this past month. She was always sharp and made weekly trips to keep her husband’s grave fresh and clean. The plaque was so shiny you could see it from space!

In the past few months she gave up driving, learned how to take Uber and spent more time reading at home. She missed her husband and would hold his picture while watching Little House on the Prairie on TV. She passed away in her sleep after a short illness and is reunited with the love of her life. I am sure she is in Heaven with a rag in one hand and Windex in the other making sure the Pearly Gates are kept clean!! We will all miss her.

Luyben Dilday Mortuary (562) 425-6401