Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, LaJames Moore admired the police officers who patrolled his neighborhoods and protected the residents, his father said.
But he also was concerned about the officers who didn’t take the job seriously, said his father, James. Naturally, when he grew up, he wanted to be an officer.
“His dream was to be a deputy,” his father said. “He always looked up to authority. He wanted to be in law enforcement because he wanted to make a difference.”
Mr. Moore, 29, died Saturday, June 24, of multiple injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. He was driving from his Bronzeville home to his job at the Maybrook Courthouse in Maywood, where he provided court security.
At work, Mr. Moore was known for his happy demeanor and uplifting nature, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the Cook County sheriff’s office.
“He was a positive and professional young man,” she said. “He had a good word to say to others on the job.”
Even as a child, Mr. Moore knew he wanted to work as some type of police officer, his father said. After he graduated from Bogan High School in 1995, he went on to college to please his parents.
“He went to college at my request and got a business degree,” his father said.
Mr. Moore had just finished at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Miss., when his father fell ill. After graduating, he returned to Chicago to care for him.
While caring for his father, Mr. Moore applied for a job as a sheriff’s deputy. He was excited when he was hired three years ago, his father said.
“He saw how police treated people,” he said. “He said sometimes police took advantage of people for no reason. He thought he could make a difference and touch people.”
Mr. Moore also was a deacon at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago and rarely missed a Sunday at church, his father said.
He became a deacon as a teenager. As an adult, he sat on committees, served on the security team and helped manage the church’s finances, said Wendy Riles, a membership director at the church.
“He loved life and loved the Lord and would do anything he could to serve the church and the pastor,” she said. “He always wanted to uplift others’ spirits.”
Other survivors include his mother, Lillian; four sisters, Barbara Burnett, Geraldine Ireland, Marcia King and Shandra; and three brothers, LaPlause, LaKennedy and Marvin.
Services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 4543 S. Princeton Ave., Chicago.
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lbowean@tribune.com
